Dr. L.D. Britt is pictured with Rotarians Sally Hartman (left) and Dyteya Lewis
The March 20 Program
Rotarian of Day, Sally Hartman, introduced Dr. L D Britt, chair of surgery department at Eastern Virginia Medical School and past president of the American College for Surgeons. As a past member, Britt is no stranger to our club and says he plans to rejoin us when he retires.
After earning Harvard degrees in both medicine and public health, Britt became the first black physician in the nation to have an endowed chair in surgery. He could have gone anywhere but chose to come home to EVMS, where he’s worked to bridge gaps in health care for more than three decades.
Britt focused his remarks on the grant of a lifetime from National Institutes of Health to study health care disparities in surgery patients across the nation. As principal investigator for the American College of Surgeons he is using “disparities-sensitive” metrics such as access to care, clinic admission, anesthesia, surgery and recovery, to measure surgical quality. Do disparities stem from lack of insurance or education, misunderstanding surgical options or lack of follow up?
Britt views health disparities not just through a prism of race but through income, education and rural versus urban environments. He is particularly concerned about the lack of general surgeons and primary care physicians in many rural areas.
Dr.Britt promised to return and share his final research results.
A book was donated in his honor to school of the day Poplar Hall Elementary.
The Meeting
President Gary welcomed all to the meeting followed by musical accompaniment from Frank Whitman and Sigur Whitaker. Jim Allison of the Salvation Army provided an invocation.
New Members Two new members were introduced Reginald Spruill, sponsored by Chip Vogan, and Jim Sell, sponsored by Bob Powell.
Visitation and Visitors: The visitation report indicated that Jane Dembert and Lorna Cochrane were recuperating from joint replacement surgery, Mark Shaw not quite ready to receive visitors and Pam Tubbs progressing well. Dyteya Lewis introduced her guest Liz Scaggs.
Happy Bucks
- Dr.Bill Lehew for the Hampden-Sydney basketball program.
- Jim Kitz for Army vs. Navy baseball game
The meeting concluded with Bob Latimer winning the daily raffle.