Newswise — San Diego – William A. Baumgartner, MD was awarded a Distinguished Service Award by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons on Monday evening at the Society’s 51st Annual Meeting.
The Distinguished Service Award, established in 1969, recognizes those who have made significant and far-reaching contributions to the Society and the specialty.
“Dr. Bill Baumgartner has served our specialty throughout his career and exemplifies the type of leader that we all should strive to be,” said 2014-2015 STS President David A. Fullerton, MD. “He has served not only as the leader of the preeminent program at Johns Hopkins, but also has served tirelessly as a mentor and on committees in virtually every major organization in cardiothoracic surgery.”
Dr. Baumgartner joined Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1982, where he reinitiated the heart transplant program. For 17 years, he led the Division of Cardiac Surgery as the Cardiac Surgeon-in-Charge and today serves as the Vincent L. Gott Professor and Director of the Cardiac Surgical Research Laboratory.
An STS member since 1986, Dr. Baumgartner served the organization in many capacities, including as STS President in 2002-2003 at a pivotal time in the Society’s history – its first year under a brand new governance structure and its first year operating as a self-managed organization. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS), where he also served for six years on the Board of Directors.
“As Executive Director of the ABTS, Bill has done a truly remarkable job of helping to guide our specialty by raising the standards for education, training, and knowledge,” said Dr. Fullerton. “Bill has had a tremendous career and, most importantly, has always served as a tremendous role model for all of us.”
Dr. Baumgartner received his undergraduate degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati, graduating Cum Laude in 1969. He then received his medical degree from the University of Kentucky, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society before completing residencies in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University in California.
He is the author or co-author of nearly 300 publications, more than 60 chapters, and seven books. He is also the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the STS Earl Bakken Scientific Achievement Award (2008), the Thoracic Surgery Residents Association Socrates Teacher of the Year Award (2003, 2009), and the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia Mentoring Award (2008).
He is married to Betsy Baumgartner with whom he has thee accomplished children, Bill Jr., Amy and Mark, and he is the proud grandfather of six grandchildren.
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Founded in 1964, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a not-for-profit organization representing more than 6,900 cardiothoracic surgeons, researchers, and allied health care professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung, and esophagus, as well as other surgical procedures within the chest. The Society’s mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality patient care through education, research, and advocacy.
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