1)  Todd Cade, PT, PhD (Doctoral Physical Therapy Division) was recognized as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (FAPTA). This is the association’s highest honor for service and contribution to the field.

Today is National Orthopaedic Technician Day –a time to recognize the outstanding professionals who are the backbone of our practice. We are thankful for our orthopaedic technicians who provide our patients with excellent, compassionate, and thoughtful daily care. Our technicians are critical in patient care, often caring for the most vulnerable people (think about a child getting a cast removed).

• Welcome to our new faculty member: Flavia Penteado Kapos, PhD, DDS. She started her dental career and completed her post-doc in Seattle, working on pain management research and solutions. One of her research foci is social determinants of health. Many faculty are working in this space, and her efforts will help coalesce this work. This is an area in which we are poised to make significant advances. 

The annual U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) rankings came out today. I am delighted to report that Orthopaedics at Duke University Hospital remained ranked first in the southeast U.S., second amongst the ranked specialties at Duke University Hospital (first among the specialties using data for ranking rather than reputation only), and No. 22 overall.   

• Many thanks to today’s Ralph Coonrad, MD, Visiting Professor - Charlie Johnston, MD, for his insights about the biological treatment of severe orthopaedic abnormalities. We appreciated seeing a room filled with pediatric orthopaedic colleagues from UNC. Together, we support the Pediatric Ortho Fellowship program.

Please join me in congratulating Alison Toth, MD, on her Duke University Health System (DUHS) Board of Directors appointment.

• Strategic plan update discussions are now underway…in 2014, our plan had three main tenants: transparency, trust, and teamwork to help us transform orthopaedic surgery through research, education, and clinical. The updated plan from 2018 extended the tenants to include effectiveness and innovation. We will work with you to review the current plan and make effective updates. Your participation is essential to our success.

• Louis DeFrate, PhD, and Gurpreet Baht, PhD’s, recent RO1 submissions did well. We should soon learn about NIH award status. Dr. DeFrate is extensively studying the motion of joints. Dr. Baht is focused on ACL injuries, fracture care, and drug therapies. 
   
• Congratulations! U.S. News and World Report ranked Duke Ortho Peds No. 23 – 40 spaces higher than the 2022 ranking. This celebrates how the community views Duke for pediatric care. 

Please join me in congratulating our Pediatric Ortho Team for Duke Children’s ranking in U.S. News and World Report. Duke Ortho ranked No. 23 – 20 places higher than the year before!

Monday is Juneteenth which commemorates the day in 1865 when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to read a federal order effectively abolishing the institution of slavery in the state and the county. This was despite slavery being legally abolished months earlier.