Upload
charles-r
View
218
Download
3
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
In Memoriam
Jeffrey S. Augenstein, M.D., Ph.D.1948–2012
Telemedicine and medicine in general mourn the loss of a
great and brilliant figure with the death of Jeff Augenstein.
He did not die after a long illness but rather in full en-
gagement in his career of discovery at a meeting in Cali-
fornia. Dr. Augenstein was professor of surgery and director of the
William Lehman Injury Research Center at the University of Miami’s
Miller School of Medicine.
Dr. Augenstein, a graduate of the Miller School, served the school
for 38 years. He was a constant source of expertise for the Army
Trauma Training Center in Miami, the Telemedicine and Advanced
Technology Research Center at Ft. Detrick, and the U.S. Congress. His
expertise was also sought after by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention relative to automobile crashes.
He was an extraordinary contributor in his field of trauma and
was crucial to the creation of the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami,
which he directed for years. He took the leadership role in pre-
paring medical personnel for Operation Enduring Freedom in Af-
ghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. His was the
program that got them ready for the almost unimaginable chal-
lenges just ahead of them in deployment. Jeff understood the need
and in his huge generosity, educational expertise, and intellect
could teach and prepare young surgeons for those horrific chal-
lenges. Dr. Augenstein vigorously pursued the potential of effec-
tive information management through seamless data capture in
the chaos of battle and sharing of that information by tele-
medicine. He had a huge understanding of the need for just-in-
time information for the battlefield to make cool decisions in the
heat of conflict.
Dr. Augenstein took the lessons learned as a trauma surgeon and
scientist from the strife of the streets of Miami to the battlefields and
to the disaster of the earthquake in Haiti. His discoveries, his legion of
trainees, his team in Miami, and his publications will continue to
teach us and inform our struggle in what he cared about so much in
alleviating the human loss and suffering of trauma. Jeff, the tele-
medicine community salutes you and acknowledges the great loss we
all feel by your premature departure.
—Ronald C. Merrell, M.D., and Charles R. Doarn, M.B.A.
Editors-in-Chief
DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2012.9995 ª M A R Y A N N L I E B E R T , I N C . � VOL. 18 NO. 3 � APRIL 2012 TELEMEDICINE and e-HEALTH 165