Chairman's Round Table

Khaled J Saleh MD, MSc, MHCM, FRCSC, FACS

The mission of the Southern Illinois University’s (SIU) Division of Orthopaedic Surgery is to provide high quality, cutting-edge, and compassionate clinical care across the spectrum of musculoskeletal problems, educate trainees, and conduct investigations that tell us what works when, with whom, and under what circumstances.

Our vision is to develop an internationally renowned unit of excellence for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of musculoskeletal diseases that will improve quality of life for the patients we treat at SIU. We have integrated clinical services, education, and research related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of bone and joint related diseases to shape the face of musculoskeletal health care delivery. This will facilitate the recruitment and retention of the highest quality trainees and faculty with an interest in musculoskeletal research, education, and advanced patient care. In addition, we believe that the establishment of this unit at SIU will serve to raise public awareness of bone and joint diseases in order to facilitate earlier treatment and prevention efforts designed to delay development of more serious conditions.

We are passionate about patient care, preserving patient dignity, and improving patient quality of life while in the care of the SIU Health System. In this regard, one of our first priorities has been to optimize medical and surgical care for the musculoskeletal patients through the initiation of a number of patient-centered processes that will increase access, minimize wait times, and optimize quality of care. This work has already shown that SIU has excellent outcomes compared to benchmark data from top centers across the country, and we are taking full advantage of opportunities to make the care we provide truly excellent across the continuum of services that we provide.

We also recognize the human cost of orthopaedic problems. According to a CDC report, patients with musculoskeletal disease are often undiagnosed and untreated. Taken together with the aging of the population and the rise in childhood obesity, there is significant potential for growth and demand for novel evidence-based approaches to prevent and treat these conditions.

To that end we have begun taking steps to increase collaboration and innovation, and we have been able to recruit other surgeons, centers, and committees to help carry out a series of novel projects, studies, and initiatives that will facilitate the advancement of our field. This work has the potential to affect policy nationally and internationally and will continue to establish our reputation as a leading expert in the area of clinical care.

We enjoy tremendously the opportunity to develop minds that will provide the future care for the generations to come. The Division of orthopaedics participates in the overall educational mission of the SIU School of Medicine by contributing orthopaedic and rehabilitation medicine expertise to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students as well as continuing medical education programs. We inspire and train the experts of tomorrow through a residency program which draws the highest quality of students. We provide opportunities and encouragement for faculty, staff, residents, and students to advance their careers in this field, while providing an environment supportive of teamwork, communication, and collaboration with other individuals and organizations.

Finally, we are mindful of our service responsibilities to our community, institution, and to the discipline as a whole. We will continue to serve in a number of capacities at the community level, at the School of Medicine level, as well as at the state and national level. Through this hard work and tenacity, we aim to transform SIU Orthopaedic Surgery into one of the top care providers in the country.