Ernest Bove, MD NEAUA President

Ernest Bove, MD NEAUA President

Greetings to all physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs) within our New England section. I hope you all and your families are staying safe. I commend you all for your mental fortitude during these difficult times. Despite the challenges that the current Covid-19 has brought, I am proud to report that our section continues to progress forward in a very positive direction.

The pandemic necessitated the first ever virtual meeting of the Board of Directors on March 28th. We had thoughtful discussion on multiple topics. Our three corporate sponsors (Exact Sciences, Pfizer and Janssen) were present for the C6 portion of the meeting. They listened intently to the legislative concerns from the state representatives. We value our partnership with them.

Dr. Greg Adey and his finance committee have done a great job with management of the section’s finances during the pandemic. Financial losses to the portfolio have been minimized because of the committee’s mindful and skillful investing, and their efforts are very much appreciated.

As most members know, the AUA Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC that had been scheduled for mid-March was cancelled and rescheduled for August 31 – September 2. Members of the Board of Directors along with Dr. Brian Irwin (Chairman) and his Socioeconomic Committee will be attending, and Dr. Irwin will make a presentation on behalf of our Section.

Our commitment to Residency education remains strong, but the pandemic has caused us to cancel the popular Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation program (CESI) at Hartford Hospital for this year. This event is funded by the section’s Educational Fund and will be rescheduled for next April. I send my personal regrets to our resident members for this unfortunate development.

Despite the pandemic, and with a degree of trepidation, we are proceeding forward with plans for our 89th annual meeting in Burlington, Vermont. Burlington is a beautiful venue, situated on Lake Champlain between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks. The convention center at the Doubletree is on the edge of the University of Vermont Medical School Campus. There are many outdoor activities available, the downtown area is very active, and there are several microbreweries. The Section leadership is continuing to monitor the developments daily on the Coronavirus and the recommendations of the CDC and WHO, along with the policies set by states and institutions in New England. If plans for the Annual Meeting must change due to COVID-19, we will post notice to the Section website and also reach out to our members and meeting registrants.

This year’s Scientific Program Chairmen Dr. Martin Gross and Dr. Kevan Sternberg have been working since early October and have produced a unique and diverse program. The program in addition to the scientific sessions will involve the audience with two 30 minute “Interesting Cases” sessions put forward by members of our section. A total of six cases will be selected from cases submitted. Back by popular demand will be two Point/Counterpoint sessions. Their committee is currently reviewing 136 abstracts in order to place into seven scientific sessions covering many important and timely topics in our profession of Urology. We are grateful for this committee’s work producing this excellent program.

There will also be three state of the Art lectures – Oncology (TBD), HOLEP (Dr. Amy Krambeck) and Management of Penile Prosthesis Infections (Dr. Ricardo Munariz). We are also planning two socioeconomic sessions with Dr. Deepak Kapoor returning again this year to provide an update on the current state of private practice in the United States. Dr. Brian Irwin will moderate the other session. Discussion will include the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the field of Urology.

The committee has worked with the APP leaders in our section to allow for more inclusion. On Saturday morning there will be an APP course of choice sponsored by the American Urological Association. Saturday afternoon there will be a Basic Comprehension Course to APPs upon their leaders’ recommendations.

Dr. Leslie Rickey returns again this year for the “Women In Urology” talk early Saturday morning. This was very well attended last year she is back by popular demand.

Our industry partners will again sponsor the lunch programs, and Friday afternoon we will have industry Hands-On courses. The current courses include:

1. Advanced Prosthetic Urology Strategies: How to improve as an Implant Surgeon
2. Surgical Management of BPH: Current techniques for the treatment of small and large glands

Registration and housing is now open for the meeting, and you can access both on the Section website. I am hopeful that we will all be together at this meeting. A great deal of work and planning has been done to make the meeting member friendly and member inclusive. Fortunately, Vermont is on the down slope of the pandemic curve as I write this message (mid-April) and hopefully our meeting will proceed as scheduled. Should further developments change our current plans, we will be in communication with you. Please stay safe so that we can all be together in September.

Wishing you all the best,
Ernest M. Bove, M.D.

Peter Steinberg, MD Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital

Peter Steinberg, MD Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital

Please join the Section in congratulating Dr. Peter Steinberg of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as being named one of the AUA’s Young Urologists of the Year! Dr. Steinberg was selected for this recognition for his efforts in advancing both resident and young urologist programming at New England Section meetings. Dr. Steinberg developed the Section’s resident jeopardy competition in 2014 and presented two lectures on financial wellness to young urologists and residents at the Section’s 2019 meeting. See more about the YU Award program on the AUA website.

Registration, housing in Burlington, and the preliminary program organized by Drs. Ernest Bove, Martin Gross, and Kevan Sternberg, is now available online. The program includes new, interactive programming elements and excellent guest speakers!

The Section leadership is continuing to monitor the developments daily on the Coronavirus and the recommendations of the CDC and WHO, along with the policies set by states and institutions in New England. We are still planning for our 89th Annual Meeting in Burlington, Vermont. If plans for the Annual Meeting must change due to COVID-19, we will post notice to the Section website and also reach out to our members and meeting registrants.

James Rosoff, MD Yale Urology-Greenwich	Michael Leapman, MD Yale University Department of Urology	Patricia Cho, MD University of Massachusetts Medical School
Jason Michaud, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital	Jaime Cavallo, MD, MPH Yale Urology	Rachel Moses, MD, MPH Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

James Rosoff, MD Yale Urology-Greenwich	Michael Leapman, MD Yale University Department of Urology	Patricia Cho, MD University of Massachusetts Medical School
Jason Michaud, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital	Jaime Cavallo, MD, MPH Yale Urology	Rachel Moses, MD, MPH Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Recorded by masterclass faculty from the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand Shared with the NEAUA by our colleagues in Australia and New Zealand.

The recording is a 1-hour case-based webinar on how to read prostate MRI with our panel of experts: radiologist A/Prof Richard O’Sullivan, urologists A/Prof Jeremy Grummet and Dr Morgan Pokorny and expert uropathologist Dr Andrew Ryan. This webinar is targeted to urologists and urology trainees.

ACCESS Webinar

AUA President-Elect. In February 2020, Dr. Raju Thomas was approved as the Southeastern Section’s nominee for AUA President-Elect (May 2020-2021) to then ascend to President (2021-2022) and Immediate Past President (2022-2023). Dr. Thomas is Chair of the Department of Urology at Tulane University Medical Center.

New AUA Education Chair Selected. As announced in November 2019, Jay D. Raman, MD, FACS, of Penn State Health has been approved as the new Chair of the AUA Office of Education, effective June 1, 2021 for a four-year term.

New AUA Research Chair Selected. As announced in March 2020, Steven Kaplan, MD of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been approved as the new AUA Research Chair, effective June 1, 2021 for a four-year term.

AUA Representatives to the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Thank you to all Sections for submitting nominees for ACS representative positions. The Board selected Dr. Christopher Porter, Virginia Mason Medical Clinic, to represent the AUA to the ACS Commission on Cancer and Dr. Jodi Maranchie, University of Pittsburgh, to represent the AUA to the ACS Joint Committee on Cancer.

Urology Care Foundation Board - New Member. In February 2020, the AUA Board approved the appointment of Ralph V. Clayman, MD, University of California, Irvine, as an At-Large member of the UCF Board.

COVID-19 Resources. To help support our members and the urologic community during these challenging times, AUA is compiling top COVID-19 headlines, clinical and business resources, legislative news, and other timely updates in our Coronavirus Disease 2019 AUA Information Center .

Opening for BC/BE urologist to join three man well established group in Fairfield County Connecticut. Excellent compensation plan and short partnership track. Group covers one hospital with 1 in 4 weekend call. Option for partnership in surgery center available. Please send inquiries and CV to bccnorwalk@gmail.com.