UCSF Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA)

The UCSF Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) is expanding equitable access to safe perioperative care through partnerships that strengthen capacity and advance priorities across education, research, and advocacy. CHESA is grateful for continued engagement and support from the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care. Key faculty on CHESA’s leadership who advance the Center’s growth and programming include Adrian Gelb, MB (Director of Advocacy), Erica Langnas, MD (Associate Director of Research), Tyler Law, MD (Associate Director of Research), Maytinee Lilaonitkul, MBBS (Associate Director of Education), Mike Lipnick, MD (Associate Director), and Odi Ehie, MD (Leadership Committee). 

Notable 2023 accomplishments include:  

• CHESA Fellowship’s continued growth, including 4 anesthesia fellows in the 2023-24 cohort Ronald Bisegerwa, Maryn Kanter, Liana Valeanu and Isam Bsisu from Uganda, the US, Romania, and Jordan, mentored by Adrian Gelb, Mike Lipnick and Maytinee Lilaonitkul.  
• CHESA co-directs the UCSF WHO Emergency, Critical and Operative Care Collaborating Centre with the Department of Emergency Medicine under the leadership of Mike Lipnick and Carol Chen. In 2023, the CC continued development of anesthesia and critical care courses for the WHO Academy. 
• CHESA raised nearly $2M from external donors to support the Open Oximetry Project and CHESA fellowship program. 
• Recognition for CHESA anesthesia faculty: Tyler Law received the 2023 IGHS Early Career Global Health Scientist Award in recognition of his health disparities and health workforce research, both locally and internationally.  
• The Open Oximetry Project received approval from the US FDA to form the Open Oximetry Collaborative Community with over 220 members representing 18 countries working to improve equity in oximetry. OpenOx launched an open-source data repository for clinical and lab pulse oximetry data and completed a feasibility assessment to expand medical device testing capacity in East Africa. 
• Through the USAID Global Goods Project, built and released a Job Aid Builder tool on OpenCriticalCare which allows users to create their own clinical quick reference pocket cards suiting local needs. In 2023, the team also released and continued to update the Oxygen Calculator and Oxygen Encyclopedia as part of a suite of free, online resources in oxygen management. 

Michael Lipnick, MD 
Co-founder, the UCSF Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA)