CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS

Jayesh Shah, MD, MHA

President, South Texas Wound Associates, PA;
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Family Medicine, UT
Health; Associate Professor, University of the Incarnate
Word Osteopathic School, San Antonio, Texas

SPEAKERS

David G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD

Professor of Surgery and Director
Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA)
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Dr. Armstrong is Professor of Surgery with Tenure at the University of Southern California (USC). He holds a Master of Science in Tissue Repair and Wound Healing from the University of Wales College of Medicine and a PhD from the University of Manchester College of Medicine, where he was appointed Visiting Professor of Medicine. He is founder and co-Director of the Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA).

Dr. Armstrong has produced more than 575 peer-reviewed research papers in dozens of scholarly medical journals as well as over 100 books or book chapters. He is co-Editor of the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot, now in its third edition.

Dr. Armstrong is Director of USC’s National Science Foundation–funded Center to Stream Healthcare in Place (C2SHiP), which places him at the nexus of the merger of consumer electronics, wearables, and medical devices.

Dr. Armstrong was selected as one of the first six International Wound Care Ambassadors and is the recipient of numerous awards and degrees by universities and international medical organizations, including the inaugural Georgetown Distinguished Award for Diabetic Limb Salvage. In 2008, he was the 25th and youngest-ever member elected to the Podiatric Medicine Hall of Fame. He was the first surgeon to be appointed University Distinguished Outreach Professor at the University of Arizona. He was the first podiatric surgeon to become a member of the Society of Vascular Surgery and the first US podiatric surgeon named fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Glasgow. He is the 2010 and youngest ever recipient of the ADA’s Roger Pecoraro Award, the highest award given in the field.

Dr. Armstrong is past Chair of Scientific Sessions for the ADA’s Foot Care Council and a past member of the National Board of Directors of the ADA. He sits on the Infectious Disease Society of America’s (IDSA) Diabetic Foot Infection Advisory Committee and is the US appointed delegate to the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF). Dr. Armstrong is the founder and co-Chair of the International Diabetic Foot Conference (DF-Con), the largest annual international symposium on the diabetic foot in the world. He is also the Founding President of the American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS), an interdisciplinary medical and surgical society dedicated to eliminating preventable amputation in the United States and worldwide.

Dimitri Beeckman, RN, PhD, FEANS

Professor of Nursing Science at Ghent University (Belgium) and Örebro University (Sweden)
President of the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP)
Immediate Past President of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP)

Dr. Dimitri Beeckman is Professor of Nursing Science at Ghent University (Belgium) and Örebro University (Sweden). He is Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Monash University (Australia), and the University of Southern Denmark. He is the President of the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP), Immediate Past President of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), and a council member of the European Wound Management Association (EWMA). He is the Program Director of the Master in Nursing and Midwifery at Ghent University. He leads the Skin Integrity Research Group (SKINT) at Ghent University and the Swedish Center for Skin and Wound Research (SCENTR) at Örebro University. He specializes in skin integrity research, clinical trials, education, implementation, instrument development, and psychometrics. He is the author of over 150 scientific publications and has presented his research in more than 60 countries. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing, the Journal of Tissue Viability, the International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, Systematic Reviews, and BMC Geriatrics. He holds international fellowships such as at Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and at the European Academy of Nursing Science.

Janice Beitz, PhD, RN, CS, CNOR, CWOCN-AP, CRNP, MAPWCA, ANEF, FNAP, FAAN

Professor of Nursing, WOCNEP Director
School of Nursing Camden, Rutgers University
Camden, New Jersey

Janice M. Beitz, PhD, RN, CS, CNOR, CWOCN, CRNP, MAPWCA, ANEF, FNAP, FAAN, is Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing-Camden, Rutgers University. A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Beitz has over 45 years of nursing experience in acute, subacute, and outpatient care settings. She is a graduate of the Germantown Hospital School of Nursing and La Salle, Villanova, and Temple Universities. She is board certified as an adult clinical specialist in medical-surgical nursing, as a nurse of the operating room, as an advanced practice wound, ostomy, and continence nurse (WOCN), and as an adult nurse practitioner. She has taught nursing students at baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels. She has consulted as a WOCN advanced practice specialist for the Cooper Health System. She is the Director of the Rutgers University Camden Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Education Program (WOCNEP). She has conducted funded research on content validation of pressure injury prevention algorithms and prioritizing management approaches to stomal and peristomal complications. Dr. Beitz is on the editorial and manuscript reviewer boards of multiple wound care and educational journals. Dr. Beitz received the WOC Nurse of Distinction and President’s Awards of the Northeast Region of the WOCN Society and, in April 2012, was awarded the Masters of Wound Care Award of the American Professional Wound Care Association. In October 2013, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. In 2014, she was selected a Walter Rand Institute Faculty Fellow to study the health problems of Southern New Jersey with a focus on diabetes. In 2015, she was inducted into the National League For Nursing Academy of Nursing Education Fellows. In 2018, she was inducted as a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice for Nursing.

Gregory A. Bohn, MD, ABPM/UHM, MAPWCA

Surgeon
Department Of Surgery, Central Michigan University School Of Medicine

Is a Board Certified in Surgery and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. He is certified in Wound Care by the American Board of Wound Healing. He is a Fellow of the American Professional Wound Care Association with the Distinction of Masters, MAPWCA. He is an Assistant Professor of Surgery with Central Michigan School of Medicine. He is the President of the American Board of Wound Healing and Past President of the AAWC. He has published on a variety of Wound and Hyperbaric Medicine topics.

Luis Fernandez, MD, KHS, KCOEG, FACS, FASAS, FCCP, FCCM, FICS

Medical Director, Trauma Wound Care
Professor, Department of Surgery
University of Texas Health Science Center
Tyler, Texas

Dr. Luis Fernandez, MD, KHS, KCOEG, FACS, FASAS, FCCP, FCCM, FICS, is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center-Tyler (UTHCT), Texas. He serves as Trauma Surgeon, Medical Director, Trauma Wound Care, UT Health-Tyler, Texas. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons National Committee on Trauma. Dr. Scott Norwood and Dr. Fernandez co-founded both trauma programs in Tyler, Texas.

Dr. Fernandez served as Director of Trauma Surgery/Trauma Surgeon-in Chief, Trinity Mother Frances Health System, Tyler, Texas; Chairman of the Division of Trauma Surgery/Surgical Critical Care, Chairman Emeritus of the Division of Trauma  Acute Care Surgery, Associate Medical Trauma Director, Chief Flight Surgeon, Chief of Trauma/SICU at CHRISTUS MFH from 1993 to 2019. He is board certified in general surgery/surgical critical care, forensic traumatology, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Fernandez served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery and Family Practice at the UTHCT, Tyler from 1983 to 2019. He is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Nursing and Medicine at UT Arlington School of Nursing; Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor  of Medical Education at the University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas; Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies, School of Health Professions at UNT; and has been an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons ,among many other organizations, is well published in peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and has made numerous presentations at national and international conferences.

Dr. Fernandez is a highly decorated Texas Medical Ranger, a retired Brigadier General in the Texas State Guard, and Commander of the TXSG Medical Brigade from 2009 to 2014. He serves as Vice Chairman, State Guard Association of the United States Medical Academy and is Commander Emeritus, Texas Commandery, Military Order of Foreign Wars.

Caroline Fife, MD

Professor of Geriatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
Medical Director, CHI St. Luke’s Wound Clinic,
The Woodlands, Texas
Chief Medical Officer, Intellicure, Inc

Caroline Fife, MD, FAAFP, CWS, Co-editor of Today’s Wound Clinic, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University College of Medicine. After a residency in family medicine at the University of Texas, Southwestern, she completed a two-year fellowship in undersea and hyperbaric medicine at Duke University. She then joined the faculty of the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, where she served on the faculty for 23 years, ending her academic career as a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology. She is subspecialty board certified in undersea and hyperbaric medicine through the American Board of Preventive Medicine and has been a certified wound specialist since 1998. Past and present board activities include the American Academy of Wound Management, the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care, and the American Professional Wound Care Association. She initiated the Memorial Hermann Center for Wound Healing, which is affiliated with the University of Texas, Houston, in 1990, and the Memorial Hermann Center for Lymphedema Therapy in 1998. She is a Past President of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and is co-editor of the books Wound Care Practice and Women and Pressure: Diving and Flying, both published by Best Publishing Company. She’s also the Chief Medical Officer of Intellicure, a Texas-based software company, which since 2000 has provided a specialty-specific electronic medical record system to wound and hyperbaric centers across the United States. She is the Director of Clinical Research for the US Wound Registry, a nonprofit corporation that provides data for comparative effectiveness studies in wound care and hyperbaric medicine. She is currently the Medical Director of St. Luke’s Wound Clinic, The Woodlands, Texas.

John S. Hogg, MD, DABR, DABVLM, RPVI, RPhS, RVT, RVS

Medical Vein Clinic

Medical Vein Clinic was founded by Dr. John S. Hogg, a diagnostic and interventional radiologist with years of experience in minimally invasive procedures. Dr. Hogg’s education began at Baylor University, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor in Business Administration in accounting and finance and went to work as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). While working as a CPA, Dr. Hogg came to the realization that he was being called into the medical field, which would allow him to provide a greater service by directly helping people. So he completed his undergraduate premedical curriculum at Southern Methodist University, accepted a spot at Baylor College of Medicine, and graduated four years later with a Doctorate in Medicine. Dr. Hogg’s residency was completed at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in diagnostic radiology.

Dr. Hogg strives to provide the best care possible for his patients by explaining and making his patients feel as comfortable as possible in situations that may be stressful for them. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology and is a diplomate of the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine. Dr. Hogg is also a Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RPVI), Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT), Registered Vascular Sonographer (RVS), and a Registered Phlebology Sonographer (RPhS).

Jennifer Hurlow, GNP-BC, CWCN

Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse

Jennifer Hurlow is an American Nurses Credentialing Center certified nurse practitioner with a specialty certification in wounds from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She has dedicated the last 22 years to the management of acute and chronic wounds. Her experience includes all care venues, including nursing homes, home health, hospitals, and outpatient settings. Jennifer has spoken at wound conferences across the globe. She has written and co-written a number of papers on wound-, skin-, and continence-related issues and has a special interest in clinical identification and management of wound-related infection. Jennifer has most recently been in the United Kingdom, where she has studied wound infection in diabetic foot ulcers from a microbiological perspective. She has now returned to the United States, where she is continuing learn about and promote links between wound infection and cost-effective wound healing

George J. Koullias, MD, PhD

Associate Professor vascular & Endovascular Surgery
Director, Stony Brook Southampton Center for Advanced Wound Care
Southampton, New York

Dr. Koullias has pursued a diverse career in cardiovascular surgery that includes his residency in general surgery at New York Medical College followed by his residency in cardiothoracic surgery at Yale University. On graduating from Yale, he returned to Greece to practice adult cardiac surgery from 2003 to 2007 in Athens. He maintained his affiliation as an active researcher at the Yale Aortic Center during this period. His interest in minimally invasive procedures led him to a four-month fellowship in advanced thoracic aortic endovascular surgery at the German Heart Institute in Berlin, where he gained experience also in the management of aortic complications in patients with Marfan disease. Subsequently, he returned to the United States to join a group practice in cardiac surgery in Peoria, Illinois, where he was an attending physician from 2007 to 2010 and had a faculty appointment at the University of Illinois. During this period, he gained further training in vascular and endovascular surgery at the Arizona Heart Institute, completing a six-month fellowship there. In 2013, Dr. Koullias completed his two-year fellowship training in vascular and endovascular surgery at Stony Brook in New York. An active scholar as well as clinician, he has numerous publications to his credit, including a book he co-wrote (The Role of the Endothelium in Coronary Artery Disease, 1997), numerous peer-reviewed articles, and several book chapters

Diane Langemo, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor Emeritus, University of North Dakota College of Nursing
President, Langemo & Associates

Diane Langemo spent 30 years as an undergraduate and graduate professor of nursing and is a national and international speaker on wound care. Since 1987 she has focused her consulting, speaking, research, and publishing in the area of wound care, with over 100 publications in this area. As a former board member and President of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP), she served as a co-author of the 2009 and 2014 International Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Treatment Guidelines and co-wrote the NPUAP consensus conference and NPUAP publication on unavoidable pressure ulcers. She has received numerous awards, including North Dakota Nurse of the Year.

Jeff Mize, RRT, CHT, UHMSADS

Chief Clinical Officer
WoundReference

Jeff is a Principal Partner with Midwest Hyperbaric LLC and the Co-founder/Chief Clinical Officer and Vice President of Business Development for Wound Reference. He has over 35 years of health care experience and has extensive experience in critical care as a Flight Respiratory Therapist/Paramedic for the Spirit of Kansas City Life Flight.

In 1993, he entered the field of hyperbaric medicine and wound care and served as the Program Director for 15 years in the region leading a 24/7 level 1 Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) accredited facility. As the Program Director, he continued to deliver patient care while providing oversight for all aspects of administrative, clinical, and daily operations within the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Facility.

Jeff is a Registered Respiratory Therapist, Certified Hyperbaric Technologist (CHT) by the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology, and a Certified Wound Care Associate (CWCA) by the American Academy of Wound Management, and he trained as a UHMS Safety Director.

Jeff has served on the UHMS Board of Directors, the UHMS Finance Committee, the UHMS Associates Council, and the UHMS Scientific Committee, is a UHMS Facility Accreditation Surveyor, and currently serves as an expert panelist for the UHMS Accreditation Support Forum.

Jeff is the 2010 recipient of the Gurnee Award that is presented to the “UHMS associate member in recognition of outstanding contributions or advances in the area of patient treatment and support in conjunction with the undersea or hyperbaric medicine field.”

Jeff is the 2013 recipient of the Paul C. Baker Award for Hyperbaric Oxygen Safety Excellence that recognizes a “UHMS Associate member for outstanding contributions to the advancement of safety in hyperbaric oxygen, particularly those who have implemented outstanding hyperbaric safety programs, authored safety publications, developed or presented on hyperbaric safety-related research”.

In 2020, Jeff received “The Associates Distinguished Service Award (UHMSADS). “This award is presented to individual Associate member of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society whose professional activities and standing are deemed to be exceptional and deserving of the highest recognition we can bestow upon them . . . who have demonstrated devotion and significant time and effort to the administrative, clinical, mechanical, physiological, safety, technical practice, and/or advancement of the hyperbaric community while achieving the highest level of expertise in their respective field. . . demonstrating the professionalism and ethical standards embodied in this recognition and in the UHMS mission.”

Mary Anne R. Obst, BSN, RN, CCRN, CWON

Complex Abdomen Specialist
Regions Hospital

A native of Minnesota, Mary Anne graduated as a nurse in 1987. She has extensive experience in intensive care unit nursing and also spent many years as a flight nurse.

Mary Anne’s experience at Regions Hospital includes staff nurse on the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Trauma Nurse Clinician, Neurosurgical Nurse Clinician, and FCCS (Fundamentals of Critical Care Support) coordinator. Mary Anne helped establish clinical research efforts for the Department of Surgery and has coordinated multiple research studies.

Mary Anne and her team have established the Complex Abdominal Reconstruction Service (CARS) at Regions Hospital. The CARS team has developed novel and structured approaches for managing complex abdominal wounds and enteric fistulas. The CARS team focuses on the best possible patient outcomes and a good quality of life on the “journey to surgical repair.” The CARS team currently services over 200 patients with all aspects of patient care: nutrition, conditioning, surgery, and wound care.

Mary Anne speaks nationally and internationally about the challenges of fistula care and complex wounds. She is the creator of Fistula Solution products and holds three patents. She has published articles in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Wounds, Surgical Technology International, Clinical Nutrition, Current Dialogues in Wound Management, and The Clinics of North America: Emergency Nursing.

Paulinder Rai, DO, MPH

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation of Long Island

Dr. Rai is a specialist in the wound care field. He focuses on the health and well-being of the whole person, utilizing the body’s natural tendency toward health and repair to achieve higher levels of function and independence. He believes in the importance of strength and physical conditioning to maintain optimal health and to treat and prevent injury. He emphasizes that nutrition plays a vital role in the pursuit of a healthy body. Dr. Rai treats patients as partners in health, and he practices a teaching model of medicine to help patients achieve their desired health and lifestyle goals. His areas of expertise include sports medicine and non-surgical management of orthopedic injuries, limb loss rehabilitation, pain management, post-stroke rehabilitation, spasticity management, and wound care.

Dr. Rai completed his undergraduate training at New York University, where he studied philosophy, then earned his Master of Public Health degree. He earned his medical degree from The New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. Since graduation, he has continued to serve as a leader of the academic medical community, completing his tenure as president of the New York Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, of which he is currently serving as treasurer. Dr. Rai is a diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He has mentored countless medical students and residents and is passionate about teaching and empowering the future generation of medical practitioners.

Jayesh Shah, MD, MHA

President, South Texas Wound Associates, PA
President, American College of Hyperbaric Medicine

Dr. Shah is the President of South Texas Wound Associates, where he has provided clinical wound care services in San Antonio for 22 years. Dr. Shah is also President of TIMEO2 Healing Concepts, LLC, which provides consulting and education services in wound care and hyperbaric medicine. He is the Medical Director of Wound Healing Center at Northeast Baptist Hospital, Co-Medical Director of Mission Trail Baptist Wound Healing Center in San Antonio, Texas, current President of the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine, and current Board of Trustees Member of the Texas Medical Association.

Laura Swoboda, DNP, APNP, FNP-BC, CWOCN-AP

Professor of Translational Science and Nurse Practitioner
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin

Dr. Laura Swoboda, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CWOCN-AP is a Professor of Translational Science, Nurse Practitioner, and Wound Healing Coordinator at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she advocates for nurse practitioners and nurse participation in research. She completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) with a thesis titled “Decreasing Hospital Acquired Pressure Injuries Through Education in Braden Sub-Score Based Prevention Interventions.” During her time at UWM she was able to study abroad in both Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand and Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Swoboda is a strong proponent of evidence-based practice, and she enjoyed participating on an international research team in Amphur Muang, Thailand. Dr. Swoboda is a faculty member of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin, where she serves as principal investigator for quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and research projects, including the planning, implementation, management, and dissemination of projects in chronic wound care. She further participates in the research process in serving as a peer reviewer for scientific journals. Dr. Swoboda is a member of the editorial board for the Wound Care Learning Network and is co-president of the Metro-Milwaukee Chapter of the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society.