MEETING PROGRAM
Friday, October 10, 2025
Kimpton Santo Hotel
All times are listed in Central Time.
| Time | Session Title | Speaker(s) |
| 0630-0930 | Registration | |
| 0700-0815 | Continental Breakfast / Visit Exhibits | |
| Meeting Starts |
||
| 0730-0815 | VA Anesthesia Chief’s Breakfast | |
| 0815-0825 | BREAK | |
| 0830-0840 | USSA/AVAA Welcome |
Houman Amirfarzan, MD President, Association of Veterans Affairs Anesthesiologists CAPT Corry “Jeb” Kucik, MC USN President, Uniformed Services Society of Anesthesiologists |
| 0840-0855 | ASA Welcome and Opening Remarks | Donald Arnold, FACHE, FASA President, American Society of Anesthesiologists |
| 0900-0945 | Opening Keynote: "Perspectives Shape our Future: A Positive Outlook for our Specialty" | Brooke Trainer MD, FASA Anesthesiologist, Critical Care Physician Central Virginia VA Health Care System, Richmond, VA |
| 0945-1015 | "Using evidence to inform practice: lessons from the REGAIN trial" | Mark D. Neuman, MD, MSc Horatio C. Wood Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine |
| 1015-1045 | BREAK | |
| 1045-1115 | "Expanding the Use of Buprenorphine in Acute Pain Management: Pre-Hospital and Battlefield Care" | Thomas R. Hickey, MD, MS Yale University School of Medicine CAPT Harold Gelfand, MD, FASA, FASRA U.S. Navy Uniformed Services University School of Medicine |
| 1115-1145 | "Malignant Hyperthermia management in 2025; Is there anything that is new?" | Andrew Herlich, DMD, MD, FAAP, FASA, FAAOMS(H)
Professor Emeritus, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Volunteer Hotline Consultant: Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States |
| 1145-1215 | TBD | |
| 1215-1300 | LUNCH | |
| 1305-1325 | "Uncharted Waters: Navigating Perioperative Management of GLP-1 agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors" | Monica W. Harbell, MD, FASA |
| BREAKOUT SESSIONS START | ||
| USSA BREAKOUT SESSION | ||
| 1340-1455 | State of Specialty – Specialty Leader Panel | Michael S. Patzkowski, MD, MHA, FASA Colonel, Medical Corps, US Army Anesthesiology Consultant to the US Army Surgeon General OTSG, Falls Church, Virginia Chair, Department of Anesthesia Brooke Army Medical Center, JBSA/FSH, Texas Associate Professor of Anesthesiology Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland Mark Liu, MD, Lt Col, USAF, MC, FASA CDR MC (FMF/SWMDO) USN Assistant Professor USUHS 10th MDG, USAF Academy Maureen “Mo” Higgs, MD, FASA CDR MC (FMF/SWMDO) USN Staff Pediatric Anesthesiologist Chair Department of Anesthesia Perioperative and Pain Medicine Navy Anesthesiology Specialty Leader Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Uniformed Services University Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Portsmouth CDR Mark Cannon, USN Deputy Force Surgeon MARCENT Tampa, FL |
| 1455-1500 | BREAK | |
| 1500-1530 | USSA BREAKOUT SESSION "Autonomous Technologies to Support Combat Blood and Medical Logistics" |
LTC Joshua L. Fenderson, MD Senior Director, Research Blood Bank Physician Scientist, Blood and Shock Resuscitation |
| 1340-1400 | [AVAA BREAKOUT SESSION] "National Anesthesia Service (NAS) Update" |
Christina M. Matadial, MBBS, FASA Associate Chief, Anesthesia Service, VA Miami HCS, Acting Deputy CMO, SCPO (11SPEC) Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Course Director, Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA), University of Miami Department of Anesthesiology, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Herbert Wertheim School of Medicine, Miami, FL |
| 1400-1420 | AVAA BREAKOUT SESSION "Field Advisory Board (FAB) Update" |
Kay B Leissner, MD, PhD Chief, Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Service VA Boston Healthcare System Associate Professor, Boston University School of Medicine VISN 1 Chief Anesthesiology Consultant Chair, Anesthesiology Field Advisory Board U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
| 1420-1445 | Break | |
| 1445-1505 |
ASA: Working With AVAA to Ensure the Highest Level of Anesthesia Care for Veterans |
Nora Matus Director, Congressional & Political Affairs, American Society of Anesthesiologists |
| 1505-1535 | AVAA Business Meeting | |
| 1535-1545 | BREAKOUT SESSIONS END BREAK |
|
| 1545-1615 | "Using intraoperative EEG to guide your anesthetic choices" | Seyed A. Safavynia, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Neuroanesthesiology Associate Director, Anesthesiology Residency Program Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital New York, NY |
| 1615-1645 | Practical Generative Artificial Intelligence for Anesthesiologists | Christopher W. Connor, MD, PhD Attending Anesthesiologist, Brigham & Women's Hospital Associate Professor of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School Adjunct Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, Boston University |
| 1650-1720 | Closing Keynote: "From Mergers to Meaning: Integration as the Leadership Imperative in Healthcare Transformation" | Louis. A. Damiano, MD, MBA, CAPT, MC USN (Ret) |
| 1720-1730 | Joint Military Annual Academic Meeting Conclusion | Raffle prize Uniformed Services University (USU) National Teaching Award presentation |
| 1730-1830 | Happy Hour | Sponsored by TEAMHealth |
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the American Society of Anesthesiologists® and the Uniformed Services Society of Anesthesiologists, with the Association of Veterans Affairs Anesthesiologists. The American Society of Anesthesiologists is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists designates this live activity for a maximum of 5.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Statement of Need
As the only military component society of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the USSA represents and serves the unique needs and interests of uniformed anesthesiologists. Its purpose is to serve as a networking and educational platform for all branches of the service. The USSA fosters professionalism, education, and the exchange of ideas through its annual meeting with deployed service members practicing anesthesia in harm’s way.
Target Audience
Anesthesiologists, residents, and medical students who are currently serving in the armed forces, employees of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other practitioners interested in military anesthesiology, critical care, trauma, and practice improvement.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this activity, participants will be able to:
Disclaimer
The information provided at this activity is for continuing education purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the independent medical judgment of a healthcare provider relative to diagnostic and treatment options of a specific patient’s medical condition.
Disclosure Statement
The American Society of Anesthesiologists remains strongly committed to providing the best available evidence-based clinical information to participants of this educational activity and requires an open disclosure of any potential conflict of interest identified by our faculty members. It is not the intent of the American Society of Anesthesiologists to eliminate all situations of potential conflict of interest, but rather to enable those who are working with the American Society of Anesthesiologists to recognize situations that may be subject to question by others. All disclosed conflicts of interest are reviewed by the educational activity course director/chair to ensure that such situations are properly evaluated and, if necessary, mitigated. The American Society of Anesthesiologists educational standards pertaining to conflict of interest are intended to maintain the professional autonomy of the clinical experts inherent in promoting a balanced presentation of science. Through our review process, all American Society of Anesthesiologists activities are ensured of independent, objective, scientifically balanced presentations of information. Disclosure of any or no relationships will be made available for all educational activities.
The following speakers and/or planning committee members have indicated that they have relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose:
Name Type of Relationship Company
All other planners, faculty and staff have reported no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.
Please follow these directions to access the course, claim your credits, complete the program evaluation(s) and print your certificate:
To retrieve a username or password, enter your email address at: https://www.asahq.org/member-center/forgot-password.
Note: Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation. All credits for the meeting must be claimed by Dec. 31, 2025. You will NOT be able to claim credits after this date.
This activity is supported by in-kind donations from: None.
Curated by: Component Relations
Date of last update: July 15, 2025
