Max R. Wursta , 2025-04-25 18:21:00
April 25, 2025
3 min read
Key takeaways:
- National Shoulder and Elbow Week will take place from May 12 to 17 across eight U.S. cities.
- The initiative is a grassroots effort to promote shoulder and elbow care in local communities.
National Shoulder and Elbow Week is an annual, weeklong initiative sponsored by the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Foundation, which aims to highlight and promote shoulder and elbow health care in local communities.
This year, National Shoulder and Elbow Week will take place from May 12 to 17, featuring events across eight U.S. cities: St. Louis; Baltimore; Cleveland; Gainesville, Florida; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Los Angeles and San Antonio.
A ‘grassroots’ initiative
The initiative was born in 2021, a vision of Anthony Miniaci, MD, an orthopedic surgeon from Boca Raton, Florida.
Joseph A. Abboud
“[Miniaci] had a vision of these events happening nationally and at many different sites to create more of a community grassroots feel around the shoulder and elbow subspecialty, making people in the communities more aware and engaged with each other vs. our typical national meetings, which are great, but not as personal and intimate,” Joseph A. Abboud, MD, chair of the ASES Foundation, told Healio.
Abboud, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, said the initiative takes a patient-centered approach with a focus on giving back to the communities and health care professionals through research grants, fundraising and opportunity.
“National Shoulder and Elbow Week is very much a grassroots effort with grassroots appeal, because it is held locally in multiple sites across the country,” Leslie Barnes, MD, associate professor of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, told Healio.
Barnes serves as co-chair of patient-centered initiatives for the ASES Foundation and is a former site-host for 2022 National Shoulder and Elbow Week in Philadelphia.
She said attendees include ASES members and surgeons, but also local health care professionals, such as hospital administrators, physical therapists, allied health professionals, medical students, residents, fellows and other community members.
“People do not necessarily have to travel far from their community to attend one of these events; and, therefore, you do not need a lot of resources to attend,” Barnes said. “You can generally drive or take the train to an event in your community and then interact with people within your community.”
Opportunity and enrichment
One goal of the initiative is to provide opportunities for younger surgeons who may find it difficult to get started in their careers through fundraising for grants, education and travel.
“It is hard to get your foot in the door, so to speak. A lot of [young surgeons] are motivated, but it is hard to get large grants, national grants and federal funding,” Abboud said. “This is a great way to diversify attention to various local shoulder specialists and let the spotlight shine on people throughout our society.”
According to Barnes, not only do the funds raised during National Shoulder and Elbow Week support the hosting sites and communities, but go toward national efforts, such as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“A portion of the funds goes locally for local efforts, and then a portion of the funds goes nationally toward these important critical missions. We have sent fellows internationally to other countries to learn the latest techniques from around the world.” Barnes said.
A touch of local feel
National Shoulder and Elbow Week also aims to highlight the unique personalities of each local community with tailored events that align with local interests.
“We have had guest speakers come in from outside of health care. Some of them were patients who talked about what a patient experience was like from an athlete’s perspective. We have had art gallerists come in and speak about art collecting. We have had some general interest topics as well. We have had people talk about a variety of diverse topics from art to bourbon tasting,” Abboud said. “It is a great way to connect as a community, socialize and have fun.”
According to Abboud, the event hosted in Baltimore will feature National Football League Hall of Fame inductee and former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis as the keynote speaker.
“Each area highlights their strengths. There are people who will travel from different cities to attend these events, so it is fun to get to know the community in a short period of time,” Barnes added. “It also increased visibility for what we do and the work in our field that we want to continue and further.”
Reference:
For more information:
Joseph A. Abboud, MD, can be reached at abboudj@gmail.com.
Leslie Barnes, MD, can be reached at leslie.barnes@tuhs.temple.edu.
