Gerald Healy, MD, Named as President-Elect of the American College of Surgeons

CHICAGO -- Gerald B. Healy, MD, FACS, an otolaryngologist from Boston, was named president-elect of the AmericanCollege of Surgeons (ACS) during its 92nd annual Clinical Congress in Chicago on Oct. 12. Healy is the Gerald B. Healy Chair in Otolaryngology and professor of otology and laryngology at HarvardMedicalSchool, and the otolaryngologist-in-chief at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

A fellow of the AmericanCollege of Surgeons since 1977, Healy has been actively involved in the governance of the College, including serving as a member of the College’s board of regents since 1997 and as chair from 2005 to 2006. Healy was the first otolaryngologist to serve in that capacity. He was vice-chair of the board of regents from 2003 to 2005, chair of the Regents Finance Committee from 2005 to 2006, chair of the Regents Executive Committee from 2005 to 2006, and served as chair of the Member Services Liaison Committee of the board of regents (2003-2005).

Healy has also served as a member (1999-present) and chair (2000-04) of the Regents Central Judiciary Committee, a member of the Nominating Committee (2000-01), and a member of the Honors Committee (1999–present). Furthermore, he has been chair of (1995-98) and board of governors representative to (1991-96) the ACS Advisory Council for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Healy also served as president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the AmericanCollege of Surgeons from 1997 to 1998.

Healy is a native of Boston and a 1963 graduate (cum laude) of BostonCollege. He earned a medical doctorate from BostonUniversity (1967), where he also served an internship (1967-68), surgical residency (1968-69) and residency in otolaryngology (1969-72) at BostonUniversityMedicalCenter. He was named a diplomate by the American Board of Otolaryngology in 1972. In addition to his service to the AmericanCollege of Surgeons, Healy has held many leadership positions in organized surgery. He was director of the American Board of Otolaryngology (1986-2004) and served as its executive vice-president (1998-2004) and was a member of the board of directors of the AmericanAcademy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (1985-88). In addition, Healy was president of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (1987-88); president of the American Bronchoesophagological Association (1990-1991); president of the American Laryngological Association (1999-2000); president of the American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological [Triological] Society (2000-2001); and vice-president of the International Bronchoesophagological Society (2001-2002).

Healy has also devoted his professional life to several significant research endeavors. His research interests have included the effect of interferon on recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, for which he received a National Institutes of Health contract and Interferon Foundation funding for a multi-center study (1982-1987), and the prevention of otitis media in infants and children, for which he received a research grant from the National Institute of Neurological and Communication Disorders and Stroke/National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (1986-1990).

Source: American College of Surgeons