When Troy Wildes, MD, first visited UNMC, he was struck by the sense of purpose and dedication emanating from the people he met.
“I knew that I’d be joining a team that was taking great steps forward in patient care, research and teaching,” he said. “A team that I’d be excited to be a part of.”
A national leader in perioperative medicine and cardiothoracic anesthesiology, Dr. Wildes is the new vice chair of perioperative medicine, quality and safety and a professor in the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology. He comes to UNMC from Washington University in St. Louis, where he served as division chief of perioperative medicine and was an active perioperative clinical researcher.
He joined the department in late July with goals of continuing to advance the department’s culture of safety and building on its already robust collaborative culture.
Mohanad Shukry, MD, PhD, executive vice chair of the department, noted Dr. Wildes’ extensive experience in perioperative clinical care and in developing related clinical programs.
“Optimizing surgical outcomes starts long before the day of surgery,” Dr. Shukry said. “We are excited about Dr. Wildes joining our department and our perioperative team. With his role and experience, Dr. Wildes will oversee optimization of patients before surgery, enhancement of intra and postoperative anesthesia and surgical care and the quality of perioperative care.”
At Washington University, Dr. Wildes’ oversaw the expansion of the perioperative clinic from 25,000 to 50,000 annual visits during his 12-year tenure as a clinical leader, which included serving as medical director of the preoperative clinical program and division chief of perioperative medicine. Dr. Wildes said culture of teamwork, problem-solving, and standardization were key components to the successful growth. His team also leveraged technology to advance quality improvement and research missions, while streamlining clinician work.
Dr. Wildes’ anesthesiology career grew from a medical school interest in cardiac physiology and interest in specialties employing newer monitoring technologies to improve patient care.
“These two interests converged when I got the chance to experience a dedicated cardiac anesthesiology rotation,” he said. “I was hooked on the ability to monitor a patient’s organ systems dynamically by using tools such as physiologic waveforms and ultrasound, and to favorably modify patients’ physiology in real-time.”
Dr. Wildes’ brings more than 15 years of experience to the department, as well as a strong background in timely detection of perioperative risks, patient optimization and developing IT tools to support clinicians, Dr. Shukry said.
Dr. Wildes said he’s passionate about leveraging technology to improve the care experience for clinicians and patients … making systems work better for patients and clinicians.
“We are learning how to employ novel technologies to continuously assimilate information in order to diagnose and rectify deteriorations patients might experience during surgery and anesthesia,” he said. “The amount of data generated by patient care activities is constantly growing as we improve patient monitoring and increase automated data capture. It is important to make sure this data enhances patient care rather than becoming a distraction.”
He also will support the continued development and implementation of Nebraska Early Recovery After Surgery (NERAS) with the director, Kyle Ringenberg, MD, medical director of Enhanced RecoveryAfter Surgery (ERAS).
Outside of the office, Dr. Wildes can be found exploring the outdoors with his family.
“As avid travelers and outdoor enthusiasts, we enjoy exploring the surroundings of where we are,” he said. “The opportunities for biking, hiking, and everything else we love about the outdoors was one of the draws that brought us to Omaha.”
Dr. Wildes also attributed UNMC’s culture and professional opportunities as reasons for both he and his wife to leave St. Louis to come to Omaha.
His wife, Tanya Wildes, MD, MSCI, also new to UNMC, is as an associate professor in the UNMC Division of Oncology and Hematology, specializing in multiple myeloma and geriatric oncology.
“I’ve definitely benefitted from my wife’s expertise, as her experience in the care of older adults with cancer is something that has many parallel applications in perioperative care,” Dr. Wildes said.
“Dr. Wildes brings a wealth of experience and professionalism to UNMC/Nebraska Medicine. I am excited to see how his clinical expertise and dedication to patient safety transforms our perioperative education and care,” said Steven Lisco, MD, chair of the department. “I’d ask all members of the department to please join me in congratulating Dr. Wildes in his new role here at UNMC.”