Dear Colleague:

Some time ago, Ellison C. “Jeep” Pierce, Jr., MD, the 1984 President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), conceived the idea of creating an entity that would be concerned with improving safety for patients undergoing anesthesia. The creation of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) was the fruition of his long-standing concern for, and interest in, anesthesia patient safety.

Dr. Pierce’s unyielding determination to launch this groundbreaking organization had many obstacles to overcome. He held a strong conviction, which was truly revolutionary, that drug and device manufacturers, the insurance industry, the legal profession, and both governmental and non-governmental agencies should be involved in improving patient safety in addition to physicians and nurses. To represent the disparate interests of all those involved, he envisioned a board of directors bound by the common thread of a simple objective, to ensure that no patient is harmed by anesthesia.

With financial support from the ASA, corporate partners, specialty and state anesthesia societies, university and private anesthesia groups, and individual contributors, the APSF through its quarterly newsletter offered annual research grants to advocate better monitoring standards. This process has been responsible for a significant decrease in anesthesia-related perioperative morbidity and mortality.

Dr. Pierce has received wide recognition for his pioneering work in patient safety. Recently, the Institute of Medicine acknowledged the APSF and Dr. Pierce for their contribution to patient safety in that institute’s widely publicized report of health care hazards. In early 2001, the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) modeled after the APSF, provided the APSF with a seed grant in honor and recognition of Dr. Pierce’s outstanding contributions to patient safety. In November of 2001, the APSF launched a capital campaign seeking to supplement these funds and support the establishment of an Ellison C. Pierce Research Award. The proceeds of this award will fund competitive grants for improving anesthesia patient safety.

The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation proudly continues this capital campaign to make the best possible use of the funds already donated. To honor Jeep Pierce, please be generous with your donations so that meaningful support can help investigators improve anesthesia patient safety. Please make checks payable to the APSF and mail all donations to:

APSF
C/O Ellison C. Pierce, Jr., MD, Research Award
4246 Colonial Park Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15227-2621

We thank you in advance for your generous contributions.

James F. Arens, MD, Co-Chair
E.S. Siker, MD, Co-Chair
Capital Campaign Committee for the
Ellison C. Pierce, Jr., MD, Research Award