Alexander W. Gotta, M.D., is professor emeritus of anesthesiology, SUNY – Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
H. Ketcham Morrell, M.D., a pivotal figure in the evolution of ASA and the specialty of anesthesiology, passed away on April 15, 2016. “Ketch” served as ASA President in 1985 and New York State Society of Anesthesiologists (NYSSA) President in 1973. He was honored with the NYSSA Distinguished Service Award in 2008 for his pioneering contributions to medicine in upstate New York – a region rich with luminaries who helped to shape the course of our specialty.
Ketch was born on September 4, 1927, and was a graduate of White Plains High School (New York) and St. Lawrence University. He received his M.D. from SUNY Upstate School of Medicine in 1954 and served an internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse from 1954-55 and residency at Grasslands Hospital, Valhalla, from 1955-57 with Harold...