Dr. Evans to lead new acute care surgery division

Charity Evans, M.D., has been named the inaugural chief of the newly created UNMC Division of Acute Care Surgery. Her appointment is effective July 1, the date the division officially becomes active.

Acute care surgery had been a section under general surgery, but due to its growth and the important role that it plays as it relates to trauma care, critical care and emergency general surgery, the time was right to create the division, said David W. Mercer, M.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Surgery.

“Dr. Evans is uniquely qualified to lead this team,” Dr. Mercer said, pointing to Dr. Evans’ background in violence prevention through the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and her association with the Health Management Academy. “She is a phenomenal surgeon-educator and a leader whose future burns brightly.”

“Since her arrival at UNMC only a few years ago, I have been extremely impressed at the rapidity with which Dr. Evans as evolved as a clinical and educational leader at our institution,” said Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine. “In addition to her passion for education, community commitment and the humanism of medicine, she is a highly talented and accomplished trauma surgeon. I am looking forward to great things as the newly created division of acute care surgery moves forward under Dr. Evan’s direction.”

A native of the Midwest, Dr. Evans received her medical degree in 2007 from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/Chicago Medical School and completed her general surgery residency in 2012 at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, followed by a surgical critical care fellowship at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. She joined the UNMC Department of Surgery in 2013.

“I’m very proud to be a part of a phenomenal group of surgeons in acute care surgery,” Dr. Evans said. “Since arriving in 2013, I’ve watched this group do amazing things, with the trauma-center accreditation from the American College of Surgeons, growing its research endeavors and expanding clinical services, and all while providing exceptional patient care and educational opportunities to our learners on our service.

“It’s a privilege to lead as chief, especially as we move into this next chapter as our own division.”

Her goals include growth in the division’s clinical and research endeavors and increasing community outreach and interdisciplinary collaboration. Although she is taking over in a challenging time, she is confident in her division’s ability to respond to the need for additional critical care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Again, this is an amazing group of surgeons,” she said.

Dr. Mercer thanked Brett Waibel, M.D., for serving as interim chief and helping stabilize the acute care surgical team.