From Dr. Ben Alman

Over the past several months, we’ve engaged in a dialogue about how to best coordinate the clinical, educational, and research missions related to hand surgery, given that activity in these three missions is provided by faculty in two separate departments: orthopedics and surgery.  We are delighted to announce the establishment of a  new “interdepartmental division of hand surgery” whose goal is to coordinate these activities over the entire Duke health system and faculty.  David Ruch will be the inaugural head of the division, and he will have joint reporting responsibilities to both Orthopaedics and Surgery. Over the next months, he will work with the hand faculty to develop the details of the new division, but it is anticipated that this unit will coordinate care and manpower needs for hand surgery in collaboration our health system leadership, and the chairs of orthopedics and surgery; as well as be an integrated unit for education and research activities. This is an exciting new model for providing coordinated clinical and academic activities crossing multiple departments.  Please join me in congratulating Dave on his leadership role in this new endeavor.