At the 2020 Annual Meeting last week, the 2020 AAHKS Humanitarian Award was presented to Michael J. Christie, MD, MPH. A practicing orthopaedic surgeon at the Southern Joint Replacement Institute in Nashville and a long-time AAHKS member, Dr. Christie has been involved in humanitarian activities for his entire career. He founded and currently serves as the president of the WalkStrong Foundation, a non-profit organization providing free knee replacement surgery to disadvantaged patients in underserved countries with follow up care provided by well-trained, local surgeons. By training surgeons and then supporting them with equipment and other implants, Dr. Christie and WalkStrong are improving access to joint replacement surgery in underserved communities around the world.

The AAHKS Humanitarian Award recognizes AAHKS members who have distinguished themselves by providing humanitarian medical services and programs with a significant focus on musculoskeletal diseases and trauma including the hip and knee in the United States or abroad. Nominations for the 2021 AAHKS Humanitarian Award are now being accepted through April 15, 2021.