Francis Ali-Osman, MD, FACS
President
Francis Ali-Osman is an experienced Surgeon with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry. Skilled in Critical Care, Trauma Surgery, General Surgery, Rib Fixation Surgery, Healthcare, and Wound Care. Strong healthcare services professional who trained at UT Health San Antonio and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Board certified in General Surgery and Critical Care.
Bellal Joseph, MD, FACS
Past President
Dr. Joseph is the Martin Gluck Endowed Professor of Surgery, Professor of Neurosurgery, Chief of the Division of Trauma, Critical Care, Burns & Emergency Surgery, at the University of Arizona. He is also the Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Surgery. Dr. Joseph has authored over 260 peer reviewed publications and 20+ books chapters. His research has been funded by the NIA, DOD and DARPA. His areas of expertise encompass traumatic brain injury, coagulopathy in trauma patients, frailty and geriatric trauma. Dr. Joseph is a member of numerous national associations, he is Executive Director of GeriTrac for the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and vice chair of Committee on Trauma in the State of Arizona. Dr. Joseph, is also a member of the steering committee of the National Trauma Research Action Plan (NTRAP).
Thomas Wertin, MD, FACS
President Elect
Dr. Thomas M Wertin is currently the Chief and Medical Director of Trauma Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery at Valleywise Health Medical Center. He holds academic appointments as Associate Professor of Surgery from Creighton University and University of Arizona SOM, Phoenix campuses. Dr Wertin graduated from Uniformed Services University, “America’s Medical School” in Bethesda, Maryland. Following graduation he was commissioned as an active duty Captain in the US Army. He went on to complete his general surgery residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, TX. He continued his post graduate education with a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Maricopa Medical Center. During his 24-year active duty Army career, he participated in numerous combat deployments with experiences in the busiest trauma hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan. He held multiple positions of leadership and command during his Army Medical Corp career and received numerous awards and decorations, including two Bronze Stars and a Legion of Merit award. Board Certified in Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. Fellow, American College of Surgeons. Member, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma.
Heather Miller, BSN, RN, CEN, TCRN
Treasurer
Heather Miller is the Trauma Program Manager and Pre-Hospital Coordinator for Kingman Regional Medical Center. In her role she runs the Trauma Performance Improvement Committee, Injury Prevention, Training Center for 16 EMS agencies, and collaborates with many fellow community agencies. In her professional career she has completed her bachelor’s in nursing (BSN), is a Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN), a Trauma Certified Nurse (TCRN), and has worked in the Emergency Department (ED) at Kingman Regional for 16 years as of May 2021. Heather is a member of the Trauma/EMS Performance Improvement council, the Protocols/Medications/Devices Council, the Pediatric Council, and the EMS Council for the state of AZ. She also is the secretary for the Western Council of EMS and for the AZ Trauma Association. She is passionate in training and educating fellow ED nurses and hospital staff, EMS/Fire/Police, and the community members in many aspects of trauma and medical patient care. She feels privileged to serve her community with compassion and commitment and to support the community hospital in all ways possible. Heather is married with two children, grew up and went to nursing school in Kingman, and has many family members in the community.
Joseph Sucher, MD, FACS
Board Officer
Dr. Sucher grew enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving on active duty in the 1980s as a reconnaissance specialist. Following his active duty commitment, he attended The University of Missouri – Columbia (Mizzou) and graduated as an Honors Scholar with a degree in Biochemistry. He worked as a biochemist for Eli Lilly, Inc. in Indianapolis, creating an automated system for biochemical analysis of novel HIV protease inhibitors. Dr. Sucher is an Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society member from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, graduating medical school as Magna Cum Laude. He attended surgical residency at the University of Texas-Houston Health Sciences Center (UTH-HSC), during which time he also developed an enterprise-level electronic medical record system and became an expert in clinical software. After completing his general surgical residency training and fellowship in Surgical Critical Care, Acute Care Surgery and Trauma Surgery at UTH-HSC he joined the staff at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas as an Assistant Professor of Surgery with Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Sucher continues his military service as a trauma surgeon with the Army Reserves and was deployed three times to Afghanistan and once to Iraq as a member of forward surgical teams. In 2013, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona joining the Acute Care Surgical Specialists trauma surgery group. In 2014 he was appointed Medical Director of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Services at HonorHealth Deer Valley Hospital; at that time, an ACS level 3 trauma center. Deer Valley was subsequently verified as an ACS level 2 and Arizona state level 1 trauma center in 2019. Dr. Sucher continues to serve as the Medical Director of Trauma at Deer Valley hospital. He is a subject matter expert for Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services (TEEX) for mass casualties in bombing incidents and has published over 25 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 5 book chapters and is a highly regarded invited speaker on geriatric trauma, hemorrhagic shock and health care information technology. He is the past president of the AzTA Trauma Association and has served as a member of the Executive Advisory Board of the Arizona Coalition for Healthcare Emergency Response (AzCHER) as well as a member of the board of governors for the Arizona Emergency Medical Systems (AEMS) Committee.
Christina Henry, RN, MSN
Board Officer
Christina Henry, RN, MSN, and I am the EMS Coordinator and Trauma Program Manager for Havasu Regional Medical Center an AZ state and ACS level III trauma center. I have been working for HRMC for close to 20 years as an RN. I have ACLS, PALS and currently teach Stop the Bleed and TNCC. Throughout my career I have been a charge nurse, preceptor, and a mentor for different departments, but my passion became the ER and Trauma. In January of 2022 I stepped into my new role as a Base Hospital EMS Coordinator and Trauma Program Manager. I pride myself in the work that I do and want to make a difference within the community I serve.
Natasha Keric, MD, FACS
Board Officer
Dr. Keric is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Surgery Clerkship Director at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine-Phoenix (UACOM-P). She practices Trauma and Critical Care Surgery at Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix (BUMC-P). Dr. Keric supports and holds leadership positions in surgical education at a local, regional, and national level. She serves on education committees for the Association for Surgical Education, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Society of Critical Care Medicine (Vice Chair role), and the Arizona Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (Chair role). Dr. Keric has a passion for program innovation and curricular design. She has recently been appointed Chair of the first Program Evaluation Committee at UACOMP. She has co-authored the ACS/ASE Medical Student Curriculum and leads her institution as one of the beta testing sites in launching this national curriculum in her clerkship. She created and currently directs the inaugural Surgical Intern Readiness Bootcamp at the UACOM-P, which serves as a pilot testing site for the ACS/ASE/APDS National Resident Prep Curriculum. Dr. Keric enjoys mentorship of students, residents, and faculty and is currently enrolled in a faculty coaching program at BUMC-P. She has won numerous awards for teaching, innovation, and leadership. Dr. Keric attended medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago and completed a general surgery residency at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Temple. She obtained fellowship training in Trauma and Critical Care at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland.
Karole Davis, MD
Board Officer
Karole Davis, MD completed her surgical residency with the Maricopa Integrated Health Systems in Phoenix, AZ and her fellowship in Surgical Critical Care, Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. She is board certified in both General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. Since completing her training in 2013, she practiced at Maricopa Integrated Health System (now known as Valleywise Health Medical Center) and Creighton University as a Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon, General Surgeon and also served as the Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency Program.
Dr. Davis moved to Flagstaff, AZ in April 2020 to be the Trauma Medical Director at Flagstaff Medical Center. Her clinical practice is focused on the management of acutely injured trauma and burn patients, critically ill surgical and trauma patients and acute emergency general surgery patients. She continues to work with 3rd and 4th year surgical residents from the University of Arizona, as well as medical and physician assistant students that come through Flagstaff Medical Center as a part of their training.
Her hobbies include scuba diving, hiking, travel, sports, reading and working on her Spanish ability. She enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter.
