ATLANTA—Jeffrey J. Salomone, MD., associate professor of surgery, Division of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care, and Department of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine has been appointed President of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST). With nearly 1,500 members, EAST has grown into the largest surgical society devoted to trauma surgery.
Based at Grady Memorial Hospital, Salomone is part of Emory’s trauma surgical team handling general and trauma surgery and surgical critical care. Salamone also serves as deputy chief of surgery and police surgeon for the City of Atlanta Police Department . Salomone has been a member of EAST since 1998 serving various roles prior to the recent initiation of his tenure as president.
“I am deeply honored to be President of EAST – an organization that mentors young trauma surgeons, fosters and develops opportunities for leadership and communication in the practice of surgery of trauma patients,” says Salomone.
EAST was founded in 1986 in response to the sparse opportunities for aspiring trauma surgeons to learn the ropes of clinical system development and a scholarly approach to the practice. Today, EAST is a respected scientific organization devoted to providing leadership and development for young surgeons active in the care and rehabilitation of trauma patients through interdisciplinary collaboration, scholarship and fellowship.
“The mission to guide aspiring young trauma surgeons is such the focus of EAST that you can’t hold the office of president after age 50,”smiles Salomone. “Lucky for me I just hit that magical milestone.”
Salomone joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at Emory as well as the trauma center at Grady in 1996 and was appointed the official police surgeon for the Atlanta Police Department in 1997.
He is the recipient of numerous awards, including 2010 Commander's Award for Public Service from the Department of the Army for superior volunteer service as the director of the 75th Ranger Regiment Trauma Center Rotation at Grady Memorial Hospital; the 2009 Emerald of the Year Award for "outstanding service to law enforcement and to the metro Atlanta community," from the Metro-Atlanta Police Emerald Society; the 2007 “Physician Health Care Hero” from Atlanta Business Chronicle; and the 2003 “Citizen of the Year” from the Atlanta Police Foundation.