Former Medical Center CEO C. McCollister Evarts, M.D. recently committed $1 million towards the establishment of a new professorship at URMC. The new professorship, entitled the Dr. C. McCollister Evarts Professorship in Orthopaedics, will focus on the advancement of the URMC’s Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation.
The first recipient of the Evarts Professorship is Orthopaedic Residency Program Director and Division of Orthopaedic Trauma Chief John T. Gorczyca, M.D.
As chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Trauma, Gorczyca works in the emergency department of Strong Memorial Hospital where he treats patients with life-threatening orthopaedic injuries.
“These patients may have multiple surgical teams and specialists treating them at our Level-I Trauma Center,” Gorczyca said in an email. Gorczyca said that he also treats patients with complications arising from a fracture, such as improperly healed bones.
As director of the Orthopaedics Residency program, Gorczyca “guides residents through a rigorous training curriculum,” according to a URMC press release.
Gorczyca noted that he follows Evarts directly as Orthopaedic Residency Program director, a position Evarts held after retiring as URMC CEO in 2006.
“He performed that job superbly well – for example, when the program was last reviewed by the Orthopaedic Residency Review Committee in 2010, it received full accreditation with zero citations, which is almost unheard of,” Gorczyca said of Evarts’ tenure as residency director.
During his career in medicine, Evarts educated future orthopaedic specialists and expands the field. He is credited with introducing total hip replacement surgery to the U.S.
“Dr. Evarts has had a significant impact on orthopaedic resident education in Rochester and throughout North America, so he understands the importance of this position in the training of future orthopaedic surgeons at URMC,” Gorczyca said. “[…] He set an example by giving to the future of education and the medical center.”
Passanisi is a member of the class of 2017.
