UCSD, Rady Children's to host Building Sustainable Surgical Systems conference

UC San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children's Hospital are hosting a joint Alliance for Surgery and Anesthesia (ASAP) and World Health Organization Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (GIEESC) meeting November 9-11, 2011. The conference, "Building Sustainable Surgical Systems," will bring together global leaders in surgery and anesthesia, health economists, and public policy experts to discuss how surgical care might be improved in settings of limited resources.

"Surgical care has been one of the most neglected aspects of global health. With no reliable system for surgical care in many areas of the world, from rural areas of the U.S. to remote villages in Africa, children and adults unnecessarily face loss of life," said Stephen Bickler, MD, pediatric surgeon at Rady Children's Hospital and UC San Diego School of Medicine who has operated on children in more than 15 countries.

"This system-less environment is a rapidly growing global public health problem that can be managed in a cost-effective manner with existing knowledge, technology and human resources."

When:November 9-11
Where:Sheraton Harbor Island, San Diego
Who: More than 75 experts from the world's top hospitals and health organizations