Soundings FALL 2023
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF OUR MEMBERS AND THEIR PATIENTS
President’s Message
Jessyka G. Lighthall, MD, FACS PAO-HNS President Welcome to the Fall issue of Soundings! I had the honor of assuming the role of president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery in June 2023 and this is therefore my first Sounding's message as president of the PAO HNS. I want to thank Dr. David Cognetti, immediate past president, for his dedication, leadership and service to the Academy of PAO HNS. During his term, Dr. Cognetti spearheaded the reorganization of our PAO HNS committee structure encouraging more involvement from young faculty and trainees, helped us transition back to an in person annual meeting post COVID and engaged a new lobbyist, Philip Dunn, to continue the PAO HNS mission of providing strong advocacy for otolaryngologists in the state of Pennsylvania.
This years' annual PAO HNS scientific meeting was organized by program chairs Dr. Nick Purdy and Dr. Karen Choi and took place in June in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The meeting was a great success! The chairs and program committee provided an excellent line up of speakers and panels from across the state as well as other disciplines discussing current management of otolaryngologic problems in pediatrics and adults, providing a patient safety section targeting optimization of postoperative pain control, and a session on how to incorporate advanced practice practitioners into our practices. We were honored to have the current president of the AAO-HNS, Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD, provide a keynote address during the general program titled " If We Knew Then, What We Know Now About Sleep" as well as being the key guest for the women in otolaryngology event. Additionally, the newly created Ellie Goldenberg Award in loving memory of the daughter of Drs. David and Renee Goldenberg. This was awarded to Kasra Ziai, MD and Nicole Molin, MD, residents who have a strong work ethic, diligence, initiation and kindness. Many thanks to PAMED
and meeting coordinators Jessica Winger and Audrey Dean for helping making this meeting a success. Please find more details of our annual meeting later in this issue of Soundings. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the PAO HNS, working with PAMED and our President Elect Colin Huntley MD, SecretaryTreasurer Andy McCall MD, and the executive council. Our goals are to continue to refine the committee structure, improve membership engagement, incorporate a more formal mentorship program within the PAOHNS, expand membership within the society, provide high quality educational and networking opportunities, and promote continued political advocacy.