The Special Interest Groups (SIG) hold meetings in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the ABA.  These meetings provide an opportunity for exchange of ideas, networking with colleagues, and information sharing.  All ABA meeting participants are encouraged to attend these meetings, which are scheduled at times that do not conflict with the general meeting.  These meetings are open to both members and nonmembers of the ABA.  Currently, there are 20 Special Interest Groups.  To contact the chairs for the individual SIGs, please refer to the names listed below the SIG description.

ABA Special Interest Groups

Anesthesiology/Respiratory
Provides an opportunity for anesthesiology providers to share information regarding operative anesthesia while also addressing the critical care and pain management of burn patients.

Sam R. Sharar, MD, Chair
Harborview Medical Center
325 Ninth Ave
Box 359724, Dept of Anesthesiology
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 731-5765
sharar@u.washington.edu

Jeffrey M. Berman, MD, Vice Chair
University of North Carolina
Department of Anesthesiology
CB7010, N2201, UNC Hospitals
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7010
(919) 966-5136
jberman@aims.unc.edu

Bioengineering/Biophysics
The Bioengineering/Biophysics SIG is a forum for exchange between clinicians and scientists interested in the application of basic physical and engineering science to understanding burn pathophysiology, development of molecular repair therapeutics and tissue engineering science.

Raphael Lee, MD, Chair
University of Chicago
5820 South Ellis Street
Plastic Surgery Department
Room J641D
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 702-6302
r-lee@uchicago.edu

Dennis Orgill, MD, PhD
Brigham-Women's Hospital
75 Francis St.
Plastic Surgery Department
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 732-5456
dorgill@partners.org

Burn Camp
Provides a forum for problem solving and instruction in the various aspects of establishing and running camp programs for the burn injured child.

Brad Wiggins, RN, BSN, Chair
University of Utah Hospital Burn Center
University Hospital
50 North Medical Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84132
(801) 581-2008
j.bradley.wiggins@hsc.utah.edu

Burn Center Physicians
An informal meeting of physicians and others who are interested in discussing issues, such as burn unit management, physician role responsibilities and reimbursement.

Louis H. Riina, MD, Chair
Long Island Plastic Surgeons Group
999 Franklin Ave
Garden City, NY 11530
(516) 742-3404
lriina@optonline.net or lriina@lipsg.com

Burn Prevention
Devoted to the dissemination of information about activities in the burn prevention sphere. Deliberations of the Burn Prevention Committee are provided as an update on committee projects and activities.

Dan B. Dillard, Chair
Burn Prevention Foundation
236 North 17th Street, Floor 2
Allentown, PA 18104
(610) 969-3930
burnprev@fast.net

Jimmy Parks, RN, MS, Vice Chair
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Burn Center
800 Marshall Street, Slot 210
Little Rock, AR 72202
(501) 364-5359
parksjc@archildrens.org

Burn Registry Users
Provides an opportunity for all users of the Burn Registry to network with other registry users and ABA leadership of the National Burn Repository. Provides a format for updates of N-TRAC burn module and provides a forum for the exchange of information, problem sharing and problem solving.

Linda S. Edelman, MPhil, BSN, Chair
University of Utah School of Medicine
30 North, 1900 East
3B110 SOM
Salt Lake City, UT 84132
(801) 585-2489
Linda.edelman@hsc.utah.edu

Burn Survivor/Reintegration
Creates an opportunity for burn survivors and health care professionals to share ideas and information on providing psychosocial support to burn patients and their families.

Liz Dideon Hess, LSW, Chair
Lehigh Valley Hospital
1131 South Jefferson Street
Apartment 9
Allentown, PA 18103
(717) 860-7550
Elizabeth.dideon@lvh.com

Mark Putaski, Vice Chair
719 Portland Street
St. Paul, MN 55104
(612) 600-5483
mdputaski@msn.com

Canadian
The agenda includes a guest speaker and a number of papers selected from submitted abstracts. The meeting also provides an opportunity for Canadians who are attending the ABA to meet and discuss issues that are relevant to burn care in Canada.

Edward E. Tredget, MD, MSc, FRCSC, Chair
2D3.81 WMHSC
University of Alberta Hospital
8440-112 Street
Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7 Canada
(780) 407-6979
etredget@ualberta.ca

Joel Fish, MD, FRCSC, Vice Chair
Ross Tilley Burn Center
Sunnybrook & Women’s College Health Science Center
2075 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, ON M4N 3M5 Canada
(416) 480-6703
Joel.fish@sunnybrook.ca

Alternate Contact
Heather A. Shankowsky, RN, CCRP
University of Alberta
8440-112 Street
2D3.81 WMHSC
Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7 Canada
heather.shankowsky@capitalhealth.ca

Chaplains/Pastoral Caregivers

Edwin (Doug) Williams, MDiv
Oregon Burn Center
3001 N. Gantenbein Ave.
Portland, OR 97227
(503) 413-1107
Dwilliam@lsh.org

Art Snedeker, MDiv
MetroHealth Medical Center
2500 MetroHealth Dr.
Cleveland, OH 44109
(216) 778-5620
Asnedeker@metrohealth.org

Federation of Burn Foundation
The Federation helps empower burn-related organizations to better serve their communitities with communication and information exchange that enhance the capabilities of members to promote and assist in the development of burn foundations.

Gary A. Hansen, Chair
Burns Recovered Support Group, Inc.
11710 Administration Drive, Suite 2B
St. Louis, MO 63146
(314) 614-0591
Gary-brsg@sbcglobal.net

Tony Burke
BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund
Suite 463, 4800 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H4J2, CANADA
(604) 817-1424
tj@burnfund.org

Firefighters
This informal meeting provides firefighters and others an opportunity to share information on current burn-related projects and issues. This round table format allows participants equal time, and the meeting is open to all.

Ben H. Alder, Fire Captain, Chair
7 Margaret Avenue
Pasedena, MD 21122-2152
(410) 360-0744
docodb@verizon.net

International Outreach
Discussion at this SIG centers around ABA International Outreach program activities and includes planning for upcoming trips, reports on previous trips and volunteer recruitment.

Barbara A. Latenser, MD, FACS, Chair
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
200 Hawkins Drive
Department of Surgery
Room 8322 JCP
Iowa City, IA 52242-1086
(319) 356-8940
Barbara-latenser@uiowa.edu

Kitty Vineyard, Vice Chair
American Burn Association
625 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 2550
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 642-9260
vineyard@ameriburn.org

Mid-Level Providers
This SIG was created as a forum for nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other mid-level health care practitioners to exchange ideas and practices, promote professional growth and facilitate continuing education in burn care.

Dixie Reid, PA-C, Chair
University of Rochester Medical Center
601 Elmwood Avenue
Box SURG
Rochester, NY 14642-3376
(595) 275-2876
Dixie_reid@urmc.rochester.edu

Jim Johnson, PA-C, Vice Chair
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Department of General Surgery
Medical Center Blvd
Winston-Salem, NC 27157
(336) 716-7021
jimjohns@wfubmc.edu

Nursing
Provides an opportunity for burn nurses to network with colleagues, gain information about the ABA and share ideas. Issues relevant to burn nursing and the profession of nursing as a whole are discussed.

Elizabeth Hayes, RN, Chair
U. S. Army Institute of Surgical Research
3400 Rawley E. Chambers Avenue
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234
(210) 916-1736
Elizabeth.hayes@amedd.army.mil

Nutrition
This SIG fosters interaction among interested professionals through the exchange of nutrition and metabolism information. Team members include clinical dietitians/nutritionist, nutrition support practitioners, dietetic technicians, researchers and others with an interest in nutrition support and metabolism.

Michele M. Gottschlich, PhD, RD, Chair
Shriners Hospitals for Children
3229 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45229
(513) 872-6298
mgottschlich@shrinenet.org

Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy (PT/OT)
This SIG provides opportunities for professional exchange of ideas with colleagues on new treatment methods, research activity and clinical problem solving. Another focus is to encourage burn therapist involvement in the ABA.

Ingrid S. Parry, MS, PT, Chair
Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California
2425 Stockton Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95608
(916) 453-2240
iparry@shrinenet.org

Jonathan Niszczak MS, OTR/L, Vice Chair
BioMed Sciences, Inc.
7584 Morris Court, Suite 218
Allentown, PA 18106
(610) 530-3194
jn@silon.com

Psychosocial
This SIG provides a forum for active discussion among those individuals who work with the mental, emotional and social aspects of burn injury, recovery and rehabilitation.

Shelly Wiechman Askay, PhD, Chair
University of Washington Burn Center
325 Ninth Avenue
Box 359740
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 731-4439
wiechman@u.washington.edu

Ruth Rimmer, PhD, Vice Chair
Arizona Burn Center
2601 East Roosevelt
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 344-5390
rbrurimmer@yahoo.com

Reconstructive
The forum for this SIG will be small case study series, to develop a listing of who is performing reconstructive procedures and to examine CPT coding for various reconstructive procedures.

Mayer Tenenhaus, MD, FACS, Chair
UC San Diego
4510 Executive Drive
Suite 103
San Diego, CA 92121-3022
Clinic :  (619) 294-3746
Office : (619) 543-6084
m.tenenhaus@sbcglobal.net

Research
This SIG promotes interaction between individuals who are involved in research related to burn injuries. Current research topics important to the area of burn injury are discussed. The group also provides information concerning current funding trends and resources.

Areta Kowal-Vern
Sumner L. Koch Burn Center, Rm 3229
John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County
1901 W. Harrison St.
Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 864-3149
akvern@comcast.net

Robert Barber, PhD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Blvd
Department of Surgery
(214) 648-8043
Robert.barber@UTSouthwestern.edu

Tissue Banking
This SIG focuses on the issue of allograft skin tissue for the burn patient. SIG interests include: establishing standards and procedures for the procurement, processing, storage and distribution of allograft, skin and cultured cells; advancement in technology; establishing measurable constant viability assay; clinical use of allograft; recent involvement of the FDA in tissue banking and future FDA regulation of tissue banking activities.

Ed Robb, Chair
Shriners Hospitals for Children
3229 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45229
(513) 872-6441
Ecr122045@aol.com

Christian Manders
Promethean LifeSciences, Inc.
1401 Forbes Ave., Suite 237
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 201-2415
chris@pl-s.com