We congratulate Dr. Sydney Vail, MD, FACS on his appointment as Chairman of the Department of Surgery. Dr. Vail has been a pillar to the Department, operating as Interim Chair over the past twelve months.
Dr. Vail graduated Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1989 and attended his general surgery residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA, 1989-1995. Dr. Vail completed a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital in 1995-1996, followed by a second Fellowship in Trauma and Emergency Surgery at Jackson Memorial in 1996-1997.
Dr. Vail began his career at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, then was recruited to become the Director of Trauma at St. Mary’s Hospital in Langhorne, PA. Before long he returned to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital as Director of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care and subsequently became the Vice Chief of Surgical Services. His rise to MIHS Chairman of the Department of Surgery began in 2008 when he assumed the Director of Trauma position, eventually becoming the Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery.
Dr. Vail has been a tactical medical provider since 2002 with law enforcement SWAT teams. He also teaches military, law enforcement and civilian medics about trauma-related topics, including Active Shooter and Stop the Bleed programs.
Dr. Vail’s plans for the Department include growth of surgical volumes, especially for the private practice aspect; reaching new patient populations to use MIHS services who otherwise would have chosen to go elsewhere; and growth in the number of surgeons and their service lines. Dr. Vail is working on shared accountability to and with the hospital, with the surgeons taking on roles with their hospital administrative counterparts. And finally, he is ensuring the Department has an increased commitment to education with the new Creighton alliance and integrated residency program with St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Dr. Vail has been married for 6 years to Jana “who has made our reality exceed fantasy”. Together they have three rescue cattle dogs. Dr. Vail has a daughter who is an accountant, another daughter who is an artist, and a son who serves as a Marine.
An “official” welcome to Dr. Vail as our department leader!