Jeffrey L. Ponsky, M.D.,
Appointed Chair of Surgery at Case and UHC
CLEVELAND (Dec. 17, 2004) -- Ralph
I. Horwitz, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and
director of the Case Research Institute at Case Western Reserve University, and
Fred C. Rothstein, M.D., president and chief executive officer at University
Hospitals of Cleveland, have announced the 
appointment of Jeffrey L. Ponsky,
M.D., as the new chair of the Department of Surgery at Case and UHC. His appointment, resulting from a national
search, will be effective Feb. 1, 2005.
In a memo to faculty, Horwitz and Rothstein said, “Dr. Ponsky
is one of the nation’s leading endoscopic surgeons,
an inspiring teacher and mentor to medical students and residents, a
distinguished researcher, a surgical innovator, and a dynamic, creative
leader.”
Howard Nearman,
M.D., chair of anesthesiology at Case and UH and chair of the national search
committee, said, “Jeff’s a dynamic guy with the experience and a track record
of being able to lead people.” He added
that Ponsky’s charisma will help the department in
its recruiting efforts.
Jerry Goldstone, M.D., professor of
surgery, who has been serving as interim chair of surgery, will continue in
that role until Ponsky begins.
This is somewhat of a homecoming for
Ponsky who graduated from the Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine in 1971 and began his surgical training at
University Hospitals of
Three years later, he became the
director of the Department of Surgery at The Mt. Sinai Medical Center in
He then joined The Cleveland Clinic
Foundation as the director of endoscopic surgery and
was the first executive director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center at
The Cleveland Clinic. He was also the vice chairman of the Division of
Education and director of Graduate Medical Education. He has been
professor of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of
At a meeting on Thursday evening,
where he was formally announced as the new chair by Horwitz
and Rothstein to the faculty of the surgery department, Ponsky
said that he was proud to be working again with his former colleagues. “This is obviously the pinnacle of my
career.” He told the faculty members
that his job now was “to make a career for everyone of you.” He said he wanted to help the faculty members
achieve their individual goals.
Ponsky is
past president of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic
Surgeons (SAGES), past president of the Ohio Chapter of the
In addition to receiving his medical
degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, he also
earned his executive MBA from the Weatherhead School
of Management in 1990. He received the
distinguished Kaiser Teaching Excellence Award at the School of Medicine in
1993; the Distinguished Service Award for 2000 by the Society of American
Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons in April 2000,
and, in 2002, he received the ASGE Rudolf Schindler Award, the highest
recognition award for excellence in endoscopic
research, teaching and service.
Ponsky has
been listed in The Best Doctors in
America each year since its inception in 1989. He has published more than
160 original articles and book chapters, authored or edited five textbooks and
serves on the editorial board of eight journals.
He is the originator of the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy which provided a minimally invasive substitute
for operative placement of feeding tubes.
His wife, Jackie, is a counselor and
his four children include Lee, a urologist at The Cleveland Clinic; Todd, a
resident in general surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine;
Zachary, a real estate investment manager, and Kimberly, who is pursuing a
career in professional photography.
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