Alexander J. Ghanayem, MD, Named President-Elect of American Orthopaedic Association
July 14, 2022MAYWOOD, IL – The American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) named Alexander J. Ghanayem, MD, FAOA, department chair, orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation at Loyola University Medical Center and chief medical officer of Loyola Medicine, as second president-elect during the 2022 Annual Leadership Meeting on June 16, 2022. Dr. Ghanayem will serve as president of the organization from 2024-2025. The second president-elect serves as part of the AOA's Executive Committee, which oversees the organization's strategic direction and is comprised of the nation's top orthopaedic surgeons.
"I'm humbled and honored to serve the American Orthopaedic Association," said Dr. Ghanayem. "I look forward to contributing to its mission to lead the greater orthopaedic community and address those critical issues facing our patients and physicians."
Founded in 1887, and the first orthopaedic association in the world, the American Orthopaedic Association is a small, select organization of elected orthopaedic leaders. Membership in the American Orthopaedic Association is an earned membership that comes at the end of a stringent peer-reviewed process. Fewer than 10% of practicing orthopaedic surgeons have achieved AOA membership. The AOA's programs are designed to provide leadership education for surgeons from residency through retirement. The AOA helps orthopaedic surgeons gain and enhance skills and concepts not taught during residency. This includes leadership development courses, content, and training for academic orthopaedists, and providing thought leadership on and solutions for critical issues facing the broad orthopaedic community.
"We are exceptionally proud of Dr. Ghanayem's election to the executive committee of the AOA," said Richard K. Freeman, MD, MBA, FACS, executive vice president and regional chief clinical officer for Loyola Medicine. "It is a testament to his leadership as well as his significant contributions to Loyola Medicine and the field of orthopaedics."
Dr. Ghanayem has led the orthopaedic department since 2016. He is a graduate of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed an internship in general surgery and a residency in orthopaedic surgery at Case Western Reserve University, and a fellowship in spine surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Ghanayem's clinical expertise includes spine surgery for a variety of conditions, including the cervical and lumbar spine. He has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed medical journals, presented over 150 abstracts at national medical conferences and written chapters for several medical textbooks. Dr. Ghanayem currently serves on Loyola Medicine's Finance Committee and is chair of the Compensation Committee.
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).