SpecialtyCare is thrilled to celebrate Al Stammers, MSA, PBMS, CCP Emeritus, as the 2021 recipient of The John H. Gibbon Jr. Award. This prestigious honor is awarded by The American Society of Extracorporeal Technology (AmSECT) and will be recognized virtually at AmSECT’s 59th International Conference on May 4. Currently the Vice President for Clinical Quality and Outcomes Research at SpecialtyCare, Al will be joining some of the most highly respected names in cardiac surgery, including Dr. Denton A. Cooley, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. Walton Lillihei, Dr. Robert Bartlett, and Dr. Gerald Buckberg.
Each year, The John H. Gibbon Jr. Award is given to a selected individual that is making a remarkable contribution to cardiopulmonary medicine as it relates to extracorporeal circulation. With over 35 years of experience, Al has worked tirelessly to develop safer practices and more effective techniques for cardiovascular surgery. He served as a past president for AmSECT from 2006-2008 and is one of the most published perfusionists in the world. One of his most recent endeavors includes teaming up with Dr. Jeffrey Jacobs and Dr. Michael Firstenberg in collaboration with the American Society for Artificial Organs (ASAIO) to better understand the role of ECMO in the management of COVID-19 cases. Al led a national effort to capture the data of the first 100 cases of COVID-19 captured in the SCOPE database, spanning 20 different facilities. The published paper can be found on the ASAIO website here. This team of experts also shared their research at last summer’s ECMO for COVID-19 webinars. AmSECT is proud to celebrate both his tenacity and innovation towards the pursuit of excellence in perfusion science. Sam Weinstein, MD, MBA, CEO of SpecialtyCare, echoed this sentiment stating, “We are honored that Al’s name will be celebrated alongside the previous giants of cardiac surgery who have won this award.”