Message from the CEO: ABA Member Updates | July 2026

As we move into July, I want to share several important updates from across the American Burn Association (ABA). June was a full and meaningful month for ABA, with continued progress in education, governance, disaster readiness, workforce development, prevention, advocacy, quality, partnerships, and long-term planning. 

Across all of these efforts, one theme continues to stand out: ABA’s work is increasingly connected. Our education programs, verification and quality infrastructure, disaster readiness efforts, workforce priorities, advocacy, regional engagement, prevention activities, and philanthropic planning are all moving toward the same goal: strengthening the future of burn care and improving the lives of everyone affected by burn injury. 

One example of that connection comes from ABA’s preliminary 2026 Workforce Survey. One of the clearest early signals is encouraging: 288 burn professionals across multiple disciplines responded.  Physicians, nurses, therapists, advanced practice providers, administrators, researchers, social workers, and many others shared their perspectives, helping us better understand where burn care stands today and where it must go next. 

Education and the ABA Virtual Masterclass Series 

ABA’s June 2026 Virtual Masterclass was another strong example of our commitment to delivering timely, high-quality education to the burn care community. If you were unable to attend the live session, JBCR Highlights & Future Frontiers, it is now available on our On-Demand Learning Center .  We also look forward to two additional virtual Masterclasses later this year, on  August 28  and November 5 .  These programs continue to be shaped by ABA’s education leadership, staff, content experts, and dedicated member volunteers who help ensure our educational offerings remain practical, relevant, and responsive to the needs of the multidisciplinary burn care team. 

June Board of Trustees Meeting and Strategic Plan Implementation 

In June, the ABA Board of Trustees met in Chicago for its Board meeting and orientation. The meeting provided an opportunity to review progress against ABA’s 2026–2028 Strategic Plan, discuss priorities for the year ahead, strengthen Board engagement, and continue aligning around ABA’s role as the defining national resource for burn care. 

Discussions focused on governance, financial stewardship, strategic plan implementation, committee alignment, disaster readiness, workforce trends, education, verification, quality, advocacy, and ABA’s long-term philanthropic strategy. 

The Board also reviewed results from the annual High-Functioning Organization survey. This discussion reinforced the importance of trust, transparency, strong Board-staff partnerships, strategic focus, and clarity around governance roles. These conversations continue to strengthen how ABA works together as a national organization and how we support our members, committees, and burn centers. 

As part of strategic plan implementation, committee chairs will now be invited throughout the year to provide focused updates to the Board of Trustees. These updates are intended to highlight committee priorities, key deliverables, progress, challenges, and alignment with ABA’s Strategic Plan. The goal is not to create additional reporting but to strengthen communication, transparency, and the connection between committee work and ABA’s broader strategic direction. 

RITCA Prototype Testing and Burn Disaster Readiness 

ABA’s work in burn disaster readiness continues to advance.  In June, prototype testing began for the Resource Information Tracking and Medical Communications Application (RITCA) project in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), HHS's Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. This work continues into July and includes scenario-based testing using FIFA World Cup as an example of a major event where a mass casualty incident could occur. 

This work is timely. In ABA’s preliminary workforce survey, nearly 48% of respondents reported that their burn center has experienced increased surge or disaster-readiness demands over the past five years. That finding reinforces what many in the field already know: burn disaster readiness is no longer an occasional planning exercise. It is an increasingly important part of burn care infrastructure. 

During the Western Regional Burn Conference in Taos, New Mexico, Dr. Lee Cancio highlighted the importance of this work in the context of large-scale combat operations, national emergency preparedness, and the reality that conventional burn care systems may be challenged during major casualty events. His presentation reinforced the need for better situational awareness, burn bed visibility, crisis standards of care, triage planning, just-in-time logistics, and expanded education for non-burn personnel. 

Dr. Cancio also discussed RITCA’s goal of supporting real-time national visibility of burn center capacity and improving communication across burn centers, regional coordinators, state partners, and federal agencies. This is an area where ABA can provide unique value by connecting burn expertise, data, training, verification, disaster coordination, and national partnerships into a more prepared system of burn care. 

Western Regional Burn Conference 

As mentioned above, Dr. Cancio and I had the opportunity to attend and participate in the Western Regional Burn Conference, which served as a meaningful reminder of the importance of regional engagement and the value of connecting ABA’s national work with the professionals caring for patients every day. 

Dr. Cancio shared important updates on ABA’s burn disaster readiness and training initiatives, while I provided an overview of preliminary trends from ABA’s 2026 Workforce Survey. Although more detailed findings will be shared in the coming months, early themes point to workforce pressure, recruitment and retention challenges, emotional strain, sustainability of multidisciplinary teams, and the need to strengthen the future burn care pipeline. 

One encouraging preliminary finding is that approximately 85% of respondents anticipate remaining in burn care for the next three years, and many continue to describe this work as professionally meaningful and rewarding. At the same time, respondents identified staffing shortages, increasing workloads, administrative demands, call burden, and emotional strain as significant challenges.  

This distinction matters. The challenge facing burn care is not a lack of commitment. Our professionals remain deeply committed. The question is how we sustain, support, recruit, retain, and develop the multidisciplinary burn team of the future. 

Workforce, Well-Being, and Dr. Wendy Spencer’s Message 

One of the most meaningful moments at the Western Regional Burn Conference was Dr. Wendy Spencer’s presentation on secondary traumatic stress, kindness, wellness, and why these issues matter within burn centers. Her message was thoughtful, timely, and deeply relevant to the burn care community. 

I also recently had the privilege of recording a follow-up conversation with Dr. Wendy Spencer,  building on her excellent presentation.  That conversation will be available soon, and I encourage every ABA member to take a few minutes to listen. 

Dr. Spencer offers important reflections on secondary traumatic stress, emotional well-being, kindness, resilience, and the need to care for ourselves and one another while doing this deeply meaningful work.  

These conversations also align closely with ABA’s preliminary findings from the Workforce Survey. Burnout, emotional strain, moral distress, staffing pressure, and workforce sustainability are not separate from quality and patient safety. They are part of the same conversation. Supporting the people who provide burn care is essential to sustaining high-quality care for patients, families, burn survivors, and communities. 

Wildfire Awareness, Fireworks Safety, and Prevention 

As we entered the July 4 holiday, ABA also issued a statement honoring the wildland firefighters who recently lost their lives  while responding to the Knowles/Snyder Fire near the Colorado-Utah border. Their deaths are a solemn reminder of the risks carried by wildland firefighters, who work in remote, rapidly changing, and unforgiving conditions to protect lives, communities, and natural resources. 

This moment also reinforced ABA’s prevention mission . Fireworks used during dry and windy conditions can quickly create life-threatening fires that place firefighters, emergency responders, burn centers, families, and entire communities at risk. 

ABA continues to urge the public to follow local fire restrictions, respect burn bans, avoid personal fireworks in high-risk areas, and make responsible decisions that protect both the public and those who respond to preventable fires. 

Wildfire prevention, firefighter safety, and burn injury prevention are deeply connected. ABA’s role in prevention, public education, research, disaster preparedness, and burn care leadership remains central to our mission. 

Camp I Am Me and the Survivor Community 

Following the June Board meeting in Chicago, ABA staff participated in and supported Camp I Am Me, Illinois’ summer burn camp for young burn survivors, hosted by the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance. 

Held at YMCA Camp Duncan, this year’s camp marked its 35th anniversary. The experience was a powerful reminder that our mission extends across the full continuum of burn injury — from prevention and acute care to recovery, survivorship, community, and long-term healing. 

Camp I Am Me reflects what is possible when burn centers, fire service partners, survivor organizations, volunteers, and community leaders come together in support of young burn survivors and their families. It also reminded us that ABA’s national work is ultimately about people: patients, families, survivors, caregivers, and the communities that surround and support them. 

Looking Ahead  

BCEN Conference Participation 

In July, I will attend and participate in the Board Certification for Nurses (BCEN) conference in Las Vegas. ABA’s collaboration with BCEN continues to support the professional development of nurses and the broader multidisciplinary burn care team while advancing our shared commitment to education and workforce development.  

ABA 2027 Annual Meeting Planning 

Planning for ABA 2027 in Chicago is well underway.  I was encouraged to learn that ABA members and leaders submitted 135 educational session proposals for consideration by the ABA Program Committee. We are grateful to the committee members and reviewers whose expertise and thoughtful evaluation will help shape another outstanding scientific and educational program. 

The Program Committee is now hard at work reviewing these outstanding submissions. We are grateful for the time, expertise, and thoughtful consideration being provided by committee members and reviewers as they help shape a strong, relevant, and engaging scientific and educational program. 

Burn Surgeon Forum 

Preparations also continue for the 2026 Burn Surgeon Forum, scheduled for September in San Antonio, which remains an important opportunity for burn surgeons and leaders to gather for focused education, collaboration, and discussion of the issues shaping burn surgery and burn center care.  

Advocacy, Partnerships, and Additional Momentum

Our advocacy, coding, and reimbursement efforts continue to advance, including ongoing CPT categorization work related to laser treatment and continued attention to chronic burn conditions and the long-term sequelae of burn injury. These efforts help ensure burn care is appropriately recognized, valued, and supported. 

At the same time, ABA continues thoughtful discussions with industry partners to strengthen education, quality improvement, research, innovation, reimbursement, and burn center sustainability while maintaining the independence, transparency, and credibility our members expect. 

Additional priorities moving forward include modernizing Advanced Burn Life Support® (ABLS), strengthening alignment across verification, quality, Burn Care Quality Platform (BCQP), Journal of Burn Care & Research (JBCR), and clinical guidance, advancing ABA’s long-term philanthropic strategy, building stronger relationships with regional organizations, expanding collaboration with external partners, improving connections between committee work and the Strategic Plan, and continuing to invest in workforce development and the future multidisciplinary burn care pipeline. 

Reflections  

I want to end with the preliminary workforce data that gives us reason for optimism: approximately 85% of respondents anticipate remaining in burn care for the next three years. That is not just a statistic. It reflects the commitment of the people who choose this profession, care for these patients, support these families, and strengthen this community every day. 

Our responsibility as ABA is to match that commitment with action through education, disaster readiness, workforce development, advocacy, data, verification, prevention, research, philanthropy, and support for the multidisciplinary burn care team. 

As I’ve shared before, ABA’s strength comes from the people who show up for this work. Our members, volunteers, committee leaders, Board members, industry partners, staff, organizational partners, and burn care teams collectively continue to move this community forward. 

Thank you for all you do for ABA and for the burn care community.  I am inspired by each of you every single day. 

Best, 

Ed Dellert, RN, MBA, CAE 
Chief Executive Officer 
American Burn Association