Congratulations to Dr. Kenneth Paonessa, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Orthopedic Partners, who was recently awarded the 2017 Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award by the Scoliosis Research Society. The award honors those who act generously, out of their sense of service to larger social and professional goals, and whose work in spinal deformity provides significant services to others, including international and charity care. The award was presented at the society’s annual meeting in Philadelphia on Sept. 6.
Dr. Paonessa has been volunteering with the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine as a surgeon in Ghana and Ethiopia since 2003 to work with pre- and post-operative scoliosis patients. As surgical director and now vice president of the board with the Duncan Tree Foundation, he has traveled to Jamaica and the Philippines where he sees patients and lectures and helps train residents. Future trips are planned to Barbados and Guyana.