HERSHEY, Pa. — Name the top prize in any major field of endeavor and its associated host city quickly comes to mind — Nobel and Stockholm, Sweden; Oscar and Los Angeles; the Olympic gold medal and, most recently, PyeongChang, South Korea.
Now add to that honorary roll call: Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The Department of Neurosurgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center captured its own version of gold when it hosted the 109th annual meeting of the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS), the world’s oldest neurosurgical professional organization, from May 19 to 22. The prestigious event showcased presentations by Penn State College of Medicine faculty members and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center neurosurgeons.
The SNS consists of the country’s top neurosurgery clinicians, researchers and educators and is limited to 220 active members. Notably, six SNS members are from the College of Medicine or Hershey Medical Center.
Previous hosts of the society’s annual meeting include the Neurosurgery programs of Harvard University, Mayo Clinic, Yale University, Stanford University and Duke University.
The honor of being chosen to host the conference affirms the College of Medicine‘s place among the nation’s top-tier neurosurgical residency programs, according to Dr. A. Craig Hillemeier, dean, Penn State College of Medicine; CEO, Penn State Health; and senior vice president for health affairs, Penn State.
“The Department of Neurosurgery at Hershey Medical Center exemplifies our ongoing mission to provide world-class health care, while training the next generation of clinicians,” Hillemeier said. “As an academic medical center, we were honored to host the Society of Neurological Surgeons and highlight our exceptional clinical training and robust neuroscience research program.”
More than 300 people attended the conference, with at least one representative from each of the 110 neurosurgery medical education programs across the U.S. With the theme “Mentoring in Neurosurgery,” sessions focused on medical education, research and diversity in neurosurgery.
Learn more about the SNS conference hosted in Hershey in this Penn State Medicine article.