Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

“He allowed me to accompany [his] team on a surgical trip to Costa Rica that I will never forget.” Dr. De la Cruz was also a founding member of the AAO-HNSF Hal Foster, MD Endowment, whose purpose aligned with his career’s work—“ensuring the future of the specialty through endowed lectures, research grants, International Visiting Scholarships (IVS), and humanitarian grants as well as providing opportunities specific to residents, young physicians, women, and promoting diversity of the specialty.” In its 2009 press release announcing his passing, the House Ear Institute noted, “For the many people who knew him, Dr. De la Cruz will be remembered fondly as a kind and caring humanitarian, with a passion not only for helping patients with auditory disorders, but also as someone who cared deeply about sharing medical and scientific knowledge with the worldwide medical community. Over the course of his career, Dr. De la Cruz made a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people.” In addition to his presidency and engagement with the AAO-HNS/F, he also served as president of the American Otologic Society in 2007. In 2001, Dr. De La Cruz successfully performed cochlear implant surgery on radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. “Dr. De la Cruz literally saved my career and got me my life back with that surgery,” Limbaugh told the Los Angeles Times in 2009 upon the passing of Dr. De la Cruz on July 31 of that year. Limbaugh went on to tell the paper that his hearing loss “was rapid, within six months, and Dr. De la Cruz did everything to try to save it.” Without the surgery, Limbaugh said he “wouldn’t have been able to continue my career. For a month before I had the implant surgery, I did my show totally deaf.” Limbaugh was not the only high-profile individual that Dr. De la Cruz helped. While AAO-HNS/F President, he addressed the topic of hearing loss in the media when it was disclosed that then U.S. President Bill Clinton needed hearing aids due to sensorineural hearing loss. He gave an interview with the Los Angeles NBC affiliate regarding middle-age hearing problems. And the AAO HNS/F “Five Minute Hearing Test” was featured in a November 1997 edition of USA Weekend .

I have always believed that the benefit of a professional

research programs. New initiatives, such as COGENT, sought to establish an outcomes database to assist you in your daily practice. “Our efforts in this area will continue to grow, assisted by growing relationships with our corporate supporters.” Dr. De la Cruz also represented a new global consciousness and was a skillful ambassador for the Academy. Fluent not only in English and Spanish but French, Italian, Portuguese, and other languages, he regularly attended medical conferences throughout Europe, the South Pacific, and North, Central and South America and was instrumental in establishing a long lasting relationship between the AAO-HNS/F and the Pan-American Association of Oto-Rhinolaryngology. He was named that organization’s president in 2002. As his term as AAO-HNS/F President ended, Dr. De la Cruz, working alongside Eugene N. Myers, MD, FRCS Edin (Hon), AAO-HNSF Coordinator for International Affairs, announced a new outreach program for International Corresponding Societies and welcomed the program’s first inductees at the 1998 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, including the national societies of Spain, Hong Kong, Korea, and Greece. And, for the first time, a joint international meeting was held during the Annual Meeting. Along with Dr. Myers, he was passionate about global education and the benefit of bi-directional education platforms. He traveled frequently to lecture interntionally. A generous man, Dr. De la Cruz cared dearly for those in need. He often included humanitarian missions during his travels. Sujana S. Chandrasekhar, MD, 2015 2016 AAO-HNS/F President, experienced his kindness not only through his leadership but also as a former colleague at the House Ear Institute. She recalled that, medical society is that no other organization has more of a vested interest ensuring that you are able to practice the highest quality medicine.”

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