CHICAGO, IL - July 14, 2020 - The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) brought home the gold with their record-breaking Virtual Annual Meeting July 8-9, 2020.
Over 3,500 participants from 75 countries took part in each of the two nights of this virtual experience, shattering prior AOSSM meeting attendance records.
Expertly led by 2020 Program Chair Lee Kaplan, MD and AOSSM President James P. Bradley, MD, the Virtual Annual Meeting is being lauded as a landmark achievement for the Society. The depth of content and elite-level speakers, coupled with seamless technology in a virtual platform, provided unparalleled access to current topics across the sports medicine spectrum.
“AOSSM rose far above the challenges of the past several months,” said Bradley, “The Society pushed the limits and took full advantage of cutting-edge technology to deliver the highest-caliber Virtual Annual Meeting in the sports medicine space.”
A first-ever endeavor for AOSSM, the Virtual Annual Meeting was developed in response to the cancellation of the Society’s scheduled in-person Annual Meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“AOSSM truly lived up to our motto of ‘keeping you in the game’ by acting swiftly and adjusting to our changing circumstances,” said Kaplan, “Our goal was to bring our audience timely topics with A-list presenters, and we delivered. It was a phenomenal event.”
Night one of the event kicked off in grand fashion with a special introduction by Dr. Kaplan and sports broadcasting legend Al Michaels. The pair provided a glimpse into the evening’s topics before introducing Dr. Bradley who highlighted the Society’s many accomplishments during his President’s Year in Review. The evening’s sessions included: The Importance of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine in Health Care Systems with Claude T. Moorman III, MD, Scott D. Boden, MD, Michael G. Ciccotti, MD, John W. Xerogeanes, MD, and Lisa Warren, CEO of Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center; and the very timely COVID 19: Delivering Care During and After the Pandemic with Nikhil N. Verma, MD, Christopher S. Ahmad, MD, Steven B. Cohen, MD, Jeffery R. Dugas, MD, Bryan T. Kelly, MD.
Participants were welcomed to the second night by three-time Emmy Award winner and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year Jim Nantz. The energy continued when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen K. Sills, MD joined Dr. Bradley for a live conversation on the important subject of player health and safety. Two hot-topic panels followed, including Technology Innovation: Performance and Injury Prevention for Return to Play moderated by E. Lyle Cain Jr., MD and Sri Priya Ponnapalli, PhD from Amazon Machine Learning Solutions Lab, and panelists Jo A. Hannafin, MD, Ed Lippie, Sr. Performance Advisor, AS Roma, Darcy Norman, PT, ATC, and Robby Sikka, MD.
Capping off the event was a star-studded panel Return to Play After COVID-19 moderated by Rick W. Wright, MD featuring Daniel E. Cooper, MD, Bert Mandelbaum, MD, Dawn Aponte, JD, Chief Football Administrative Officer, NFL, Brian Hainline, MD, Chief Medical Officer, NCAA, Tory Lindley, ATC, NATA President, Drew Rosenhaus, Rosenhaus Sports, and Professional Tennis Star Venus Williams.
Incoming AOSSM President Michael G. Ciccotti, MD, Rothman Institute, Philadelphia, will preside over the 49 the Annual Meeting in Nashville, July 8-11, 2021.
The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) is the premier global, sports medicine organization representing the interests of orthopaedic surgeons and other professionals who provide comprehensive health services for the care of athletes and active people of all ages and levels. We cultivate evidence-based knowledge, provide extensive educational programming, and promote emerging research that advances the science and practice of sports medicine. AOSSM is also a founding partner of the STOP Sports Injuries campaign to prevent overuse and traumatic injuries in kids.
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