Fred H. Edwards, M.D., chief and a professor of cardiothoracic surgery in the College of Medicine-Jacksonville, received The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ Distinguished Service Award at the organization’s annual meeting in January.
The prestigious award – presented only 20 times since its inception 38 years ago – recognizes those who have made significant and far-reaching contributions to STS and the specialty.
Edwards has long been involved in the STS National Cardiothoracic Surgery Database, has served as its chair since 2004 and has played an instrumental role in building it into a world-renowned outcomes resource. He and the STS Workforce on National Databases designed the methodology that generated the first risk-adjusted outcomes in the STS National Database.
“Dr. Edwards and the Workforce are taking the database to a much higher level, overseeing its modernization and working with the payors to enhance its use as a quality measurement tool,” said STS president Frederick Grover on presenting the award to Edwards. “He has been a passionate champion for the database – all for the good of the specialty and its patients.”
Founded in 1964 and dedicated to saving and extending the lives of the patients it serves, STS represents more than 5,000 surgeons worldwide who provide heart, lung, esophageal and other surgical procedures of the chest.