The Thirtieth SBAS Meeting – Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee
3/16/20 – UPDATE – Covid19 and the Cancellation of the 2020 SBAS Annual Meeting
Dear colleagues,
The SBAS leadership and staff have been closely monitoring CoVid19 updates and recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Federal, State, and Local Governments as well as the rising number of institutional travel bans. President Trump has declared a National Emergency in response to the Coronavirus. In addition, the DHS of Wisconsin recommended that all gatherings of 250 or more be canceled or postponed Statewide to protect Wisconites from the spread of Cocid19. The CDC has now tightened restrictions to no gatherings greater than 50 people. Our foremost concern is for the health and safety of our members, their patients, meeting attendees as well as the Milwaukee community.
Based on these overwhelming factors, SBAS has come to the difficult and unfortunate decision to CANCEL its 30th Annual Meeting in Milwaukee that was scheduled for April 23–26, 2020.
Finding a safe and sensible solution to this unfortunate situation is our foremost priority. We have attempted to answer the most pressing questions below.
—Martin S. Karpeh Jr., MD
SBAS President
More Information on the Meeting Cancellation
How will the SBAS handle registration refunds?
All registered Annual Meeting attendees will be entitled to a full registration refund. You do not need to contact the SBAS; information will be forthcoming.
How can I cancel my hotel reservation?
Individual attendees are responsible for canceling their own hotel reservations made through the official housing block at the Westin. You may cancel your hotel reservations online or by contacting the Westin by phone at 414-224-5224; if canceling online, you will need to have available the confirmation number received upon booking. Please also remember to cancel any other personal arrangements you've made, such as air travel. The Westin cancelation policy due to CoVid19 is available at https://marriott-re-2019ncovc.com.
Will the 30th Annual Meeting be postponed until a later date / rescheduled?
The Executive Council and Program Committee have been working together towards a solution that will maintain the exceptional educational experience that you have come to expect while minimizing the growing health risk to our members. Unfortunately, a virtual option will not be possible.
SBAS Annual Meetings are planned years in advance, with careful coordination with venues that can accommodate our meeting. Rescheduling is proving to be difficult. Finding a date that is agreeable and offers the best opportunity for the majority of our membership and non-member physicians alike is challenging. Official notice regarding a possible alternate date will be forthcoming in the near future.
What happens if I was scheduled to present and/or discuss an abstract?
SBAS and the American Journal of Surgery will be reaching out directly to oral and selected poster presenters to address issues of manuscript submission/publication. All papers will still be accepted for publication consideration in the Proceedings issue of the American Journal of Surgery. Again, all accepted oral and poster presenters will be contacted with further information.