Dr. Ellison C. Pierce, President of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, preceded the October 9 Board of Directors meeting with a special announcement: the creation of the “Gale E. Dryden, M.D. Research Fund.” This fund is dedicated to support research on anesthesia-related nosocomial infections. Dr. Pierce stated, ‘In this day and age, there can be little question that the prevalence of AIDS and the increasing incidence of our old nemesis, tuberculosis, highlights the importance of nosocomial infections as this relates to anesthesia practice.’
Gale Dryden has been a pioneer in this area of research with more than 40 publications on topics dealing with anesthesia equipment, and specifically concerning contamination and the risks of infection from anesthesia equipment. After obtaining his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1947, and an internship at the Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis, Dr. Dryden pursued a period of general practice until 1955 when he entered a residency in anesthesiology at the Marion County General Hospital. He remained there in anesthesia practice and ultimately became Chairman of the Department as well as an assistant professor at Indiana University.
In addition to participating in the training of more than 800 residents, Dr. Dryden was awarded 19 patents for devices used in anesthesia practice. Among these devices were a disposable C02 absorber, a portable anesthesia machine, a nasal anesthesia mask, a disposable dear face mask, and many other devices. Well ahead of his time, Dr. Dryden developed a device for humidifying non-rebreathing systems in 1975. And at this time, Dr. Dryden has three additional patents pending.
Two of Dr. Gale Dryden’s sons, Paul and Steven (a cardiovascular anesthesiologist) presented the check inaugurating the Dryden Fund to Dr. Pierce (see photo). Beginning in 1994, the Dryden Research Fund will award one grant for research in anesthesia-related nosocomial infections. Application forms may be requested from:
E.S. Siker, M.D., Executive Director Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
1400 Locust Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-5166
or by FAX (412-281-9485).
The deadline for applications is June 15,1994. The award will be announced at the annual meeting of APSF at the time of the ASA meeting in October.