image: Frederick M. "Skip" Burkle
Credit: ResearchGate
Washington, D.C. -- The Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (SDMPH) will host its inaugural Frederick M. “Skip” Burkle Distinguished Lecture at its upcoming Annual Conference and Meeting to be held in Washington, D.C., December 4-6, 2023. The lecture is named in honor of the celebrated Disaster Medicine physician and scientist Professor Frederick “Skip” M. Burkle, Jr., MD, MPH, PhD (Hon.), DTM, FAAP, FACEP, Senior Fellow and Scientist with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University and will be presented on Monday, December 4. Dr. Burkle is recognized globally for his tireless efforts in support of human rights, humanitarian assistance, and disaster preparedness and response. He has been the teacher and mentor to countless health professionals and is often and rightly referred to as the “father of disaster medicine.” His medical qualifications span the fields of pediatrics, emergency medicine, psychiatry, public health, and tropical medicine.
This lecture, the first in a series, will be presented by Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ronald Ray Blanck, DO, who served as Surgeon General of the U.S. Army. In his official capacities, Dr. Blanck was able to implement and oversee policies and programs that reflected the humanitarian vision of Dr. Burkle and in his current position as Senior VP of Intealth and Executive Director of FAIMER, now a division of Intealth along with ECFMG continues to enable Dr, Burkle's vision of an integrated, multi-disciplinary, professional Global Disaster Medicine Workforce.
“It is with great pleasure I present the inaugural Burkle Lecture at the SDMPH Annual Meeting,” says Dr. Blanck. “Skip possesses all the critical professional and personal qualities required to continue impacting the current and future of disaster medicine. We can all learn much from him.”