ROSEMONT, Ill. – Dr. G. Stephen (Steve) Vincent received the Society for Vascular Surgery’s (SVS) Excellence in Community Practice Award during the SVS Vascular Annual Meeting in June.
This honor, for vascular surgeons in community practice, is bestowed upon members who have exhibited outstanding leadership within their communities as practicing vascular surgeons.
Drs. Patricia Furey, of Bedford, N.H., and Clifford Sales, of Westfield, N.J., also were honored.
Vincent, of Mount Vernon, Ohio, has spent his career in the state. When he began practice in the Columbus area, he collaborated with a community hospital in an underserved area to begin an outreach vascular program to patients that lacked access to vascular care. This initially began with development of a vascular office practice and simple procedures, but has progressed to provide full-service, vascular care with angiography, angioplasty, stenting, bypass procedures, endarterectomy, aneurysm and dialysis-access procedures. He was instrumental in building the local wound care service line, which offers extensive services for a rural community, including the availability of two hyperbaric treatment chambers.
Said a colleague, “He moved to a vascular desert and built a vascular program from the ground up. What elevates this even more is his commitment of over 30 uninterrupted years to this mission. In spite of the innumerable challenges and barriers during this journey, it is his persistence, collaborative spirit and leadership in team-building that have established him as an example in his community of excellence from a Society for Vascular Surgery member.”
He is on the staffs of several hospitals, some for 35 years, and is medical director for the Non-Invasive Vascular Labs at two.
Always interested in advancing care, he has also helped train other team members to improve their skills and capabilities.
He volunteered to help organize and start the Society of Black Vascular Surgeons where he serves as vice president. Dr. Vincent “had a significant amount of history of the denigrating issues facing Black vascular surgeons who were either in private or academic practice in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” said a colleague also involved in forming the SBVS. “His insight, leadership and support were crucial to getting a more comprehensive understanding as to the mission of the organization. Because of his influence we were able to form an organization that focused on mentoring those currently in practice and those following our footsteps.”
Dr. Vincent also has been a medical leader within the community, been involved with 17 medical societies and been chapter president of the National Medical Association. His community activities include the Park Foundation and extensive involvement with the Boy Scouts of America.
About the Society for Vascular Surgery:
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) seeks to advance excellence and innovation in vascular health through education, advocacy, research and public awareness. The organization was founded in 1946 and has a membership of more than 6,300. SVS membership is recognized in the vascular community as a mark of professional achievement.