Dr. Cusick named division chief for pediatric surgery

Robert Cusick, M.D., has been named chief of the pediatric surgery division in the UNMC Department of Surgery. He replaces Stephen Raynor, M.D., who has served as division chief for nearly 10 years.

The announcement was made by David W. Mercer, M.D., professor and chair of the department of surgery who noted that Dr. Raynor will continue to remain on the faculty and be clinically active.

Stephen Raynor, M.D.

Dr. Cusick joined the UNMC faculty in 2001 as an associate professor and was elevated to professor in 2015. Since 2013, Dr. Cusick has been director of the pediatric surgery fellowship program. He was a magna cum laude graduate of Creighton University in 1987 and earned his medical degree from UNMC in 1992.

He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Cincinnati and a two-year research fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He then completed a fellowship at Children’s Hospital Regional Medical Center in Seattle in pediatric general and thoracic surgery.

“It seems quite fitting that a faculty recruit and good friend of Dr. Raynor should now be the one who steps up to replace him,” Dr. Mercer said. “I have no doubt that Dr. Cusick will join forces with the new leadership at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center to make us a force for years to come.”

Dr. Mercer cited Dr. Cusick for his involvement in several national organizations, including the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, the American Pediatric Surgical Association, and the American Board of Surgery.

“I am so pleased that we have someone of Dr. Cusick’s caliber to lead pediatric surgery,” Dr. Raynor said. “He is well-respected nationally and has all the necessary skills to lead pediatric surgery to a more prominent position regionally and nationally, while maintaining excellence in patient care. He is an excellent educator, clinician and researcher.”

A 1981 graduate of the UNMC College of Medicine, Dr. Raynor has been a fixture at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center since he joined the staff in 1989. He was a key player in the development of the affiliation agreement between UNMC and Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in 2007.

“We are greatly indebted to Dr. Raynor,” Dr. Mercer said. “He was instrumental in developing the academic division of pediatric surgery, and he spearheaded efforts to make Children’s physicians faculty members in the UNMC Department of Surgery.

“He was responsible for substantial growth in clinical pediatric surgery, and — together with the many faculty he recruited — we saw a significant increase in educational and research activity.”

“I look forward to the opportunity to continue the legacy left behind by Dr. Raynor,” Dr. Cusick said. “His leadership guided the division from a two-member community program to a five-member group with a pediatric surgery training program and growing research activities. We will continue his focus on high-level clinical care and professionalism.”