On behalf of the Society, the ASA
President presents the DSA recipient with a memento
consisting of a hand-calligraphed certificate in
a gold-embossed, dark blue Moroccan leather folder
and a 10-inch-tall crystal obelisk paired with a
lighted wooden base (see
figure below).
The obelisk is an optical tower, in the center of
which is an embedded three-dimensional laser-cut
image of a lighthouse, the symbol that with the
motto “Vigilance” dominates the ASA
seal. Engraved into the back of the tower is an
intricately etched reproduction of the complete
ASA seal surrounded by the words “Distinguished
Service Award.”
The base serves to illuminate the obelisk and the
3-D image from below. The DSA recipient’s
name and the year of the award are inscribed on
a brass plate on the face of the wooden base.
This year it will be the honor of ASA President
Orin F. Guidry, M.D., to present the DSA to the
member selected by the 2005 House of Delegates,
Jerome H. Modell, M.D., Professor Emeritus in the
Department of Anesthesiology at the University of
Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida.
By being selected as the 2005 DSA recipient, Dr.
Modell, a 1957 graduate of the University of Minnesota
School of Medicine, became a member of a prestigious
group of previous recipients in being recognized
for extraordinary contributions to our profession
and patients.
An abbreviated summary of Dr. Modell’s career
and contributions follows:
• Six years of distinguished
service as a U.S. Naval officer.
– St. Albans, New York Naval
Hospital: Established intensive care unit and
respiratory therapy department.
– Chief of Anesthesiology at the U.S.
Naval Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. (During
this assignment, Dr. Modell treated his first
drowning victim, thus initiating his interest
in, and leading to a four-decade career of,
studying the pathophysiology and treatment of
drowning.)
– Member of the original medical recovery
team for the NASA space program, Project Mercury.
• Joined the faculty at the University of
Miami in 1963.
– Established the intensive
care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
– Played a major role in establishing
an anesthesiology educational program.
• Became professor and chairman
of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University
of Florida in 1969, a position he held for more
than 23 years.
• From 1992 to 2001, he served at the University
of Florida in various administrative positions
of increasing importance:
– Senior Associate Dean
for Clinical Affairs
– Executive Associate Dean
– Interim Dean of the College of Medicine
– Associate Vice-President for Health
Affairs.
• Concurrent with his academic
activities, Dr. Modell has been very active in
ASA and has served on 12 different committees.
Some examples include:
– Chair of the Committee
on Refresher Courses
– Chair of the Committee on the Annual
Meeting
– Chair of the Committee on Continuing
Education
– Chair of the Committee on Governmental
Affairs, inaugurating the ASA annual Governmental
Affairs Workshop (forerunner of the annual Legislative
Conference)
– Three decades of activism in anesthesiology
political issues, including testifying on such
issues before committees of the Florida State
Legislature, both houses of the U.S. Congress,
the Federal Trade Commission and the Department
of Justice.
• Numerous leadership roles,
including:
– Past president of the
Florida Society of Anesthesiologists
– Past president of the Society of Academic
Anesthesiology Chairs
– Past president of the Association of
University Anesthesiologists
– American College of Chest Physicians.
• Presentation of 10 named
lectureships.
• Recipient of the Lifetime
Achievement Award of the American Society of Critical
Care Anesthesiologists.
• Recipient of the Distinguished
Service Award of the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists.
• Participated in assembling
the team of physicians, engineers and computer
scientists who developed and obtained a patent
on the Gainesville Anesthesia Simulator, now known
as the human patient simulator (HPS), a computer-driven
mannequin that can mimic physiologic and pharmacologic
interactions with the human body to provide hands-on
training in physiology, pharmacology, anesthesiology
and critical care medicine without risk to human
life. The HPS is now in use in more than 400 institutions
in the United States and Europe.
• The University of Florida
has honored Dr. Modell by establishing an endowed
professorship in anesthesiology in his name.
• Professor emeritus at the
University of Florida.
• Recipient of the Medal
of Honor of the Dutch Society to Rescue People
From Drowning. (It was founded in 1767 and is
the oldest rescue society in the world.)
• Presented the Emery A.
Rovenstine Memorial Lecture at the 2004 ASA Annual
Meeting.
• In retirement he volunteers
on a regular basis to provide anesthesia care,
teach medical and veterinary students and anesthesiology
residents, and mentors faculty in both the colleges
of medicine and veterinary medicine.
Dr. Modell’s service to ASA
has clearly been exemplary, and his outstanding
clinical, educational and scientific achievements
have made a difference in our patients’ lives.
I look forward to being present when Dr. Guidry
presents the DSA to him.