Our Vascular Annual Meeting has plenty to occupy attendees from morning to evening. But before and after VAM, and for family members during the meeting, San Diego beckons.

With this issue of the Vascular Specialist, the SVS pages are focused primarily on the upcoming Vascular Annual Meeting in San Diego. The end of May will be here before we know it, and with it, the start of our most important scientific meeting of the year.

This year is the first for the Alexander W. Clowes Distinguished Lecture, and will be delivered by William Sessa, Ph.D.

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An excellent surgeon. A vascular scientist regarded as one of the best. And an even finer human being.

All of the above describe the late Alexander Whitehill Clowes, MD, who died of a brain glioblastoma in July 2015 at age 68.

“The Matrix” is more than a movie. It’s also part of the May 3 Vascular Research Initiatives Conference in Minneapolis, Minn.

Because of challenges involved in transferring patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms from one facility to another, the Western Vascular Society has adopted a set of 15 guidelines on how to make that decision and help standardize care.

The SVS Patient Safety Organization has announced the winners of the 2016 VQI Participation Awards. This program, in its second year, recognizes the importance of active participation in the VQI as a critical component of the quality improvement mission.

The SVS has begun work on creating an Alternative Payment Model for SVS members to use for reimbursement under the new Quality Payment Program. A task force has been named and an operational plan drawn up, under the supervision of the SVS Executive Committee.   

The SVS Government Relations office on Capitol Hill, helps members and their patients through not only its legislative and regulatory work but also oversight of the SVS Political Action Committee.

Successes include:

Legislative