AAOS, OREF announce official fundraising collaboration for education programs

The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation has recently become the official fundraiser for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ professional education programs.

Under the new agreement, the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) will seek individual donations to support the orthopedic education programs of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and establish an annual grant for these endeavors.

“We believe it is important for those in the medical industry and all orthopedic surgeons to see us designate OREF as the official fundraiser for the Academy’s orthopedic education programs,” AAOS President Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD, stated in an AAOS press release. “Continuing education is a patient-safety best practice, and should be a top priority for all orthopedic stakeholders. Bringing together the AAOS and OREF for this important endeavor is a win-win for all of orthopedic surgery and further emphasizes the role of OREF as the leading orthopedic-fundraising organization.”

In addition, the OREF will provide the following functions for the AAOS:

review all of the group’s funding proposals;
devote staff designated to raising funds for the association’s programs; and
develop fundraising proposals specifically for the group.

The OREF will continue to encourage corporate donations to fund educational programs for the AAOS and provide fundraising efforts for other orthopedic groups.

“This is a challenging fundraising environment, and it makes sense to collaborate both strategically and tactically for scarce funds,” William P. Cooney III, MD,chair of the OREF board of trustees, stated in the release. “The companies with which we have spoken seem to like the concept of ‘one-stop shopping’ where they can work with OREF to provide funding for a wide range of orthopedic programs, including those Academy funding priorities we together identified.”

Reference:
www.aaos.org