Faculty Awards, Honors & Publications

Dr. Eileen Bulger Named Harborview Medical Center Surgeon-in Chief of Trauma, Burn & Critical Care

(November 2022) Our utmost congratulations to Eileen M. Bulger, MD, who is the newly appointed Chief for the Division of Trauma, Burn and Critical Care Surgery in addition to being named the Surgeon-in-Chief for Harborview Medical Center. The selection came after an extensive national search confirmed that she was indeed the most highly qualified candidate for these leadership positions.

To those of us whom have known Eileen since she first came to the UW Department of Surgery as an intern in 1992, we are not surprised by these highly appropriate acknowledgements in her already stellar career and proven excellence in all she has done during her tenure at HMC. Eileen was recognized as a potential academic star from the time she arrived. Her prior pedigree, including an undergrad degree from The Johns Hopkins University and MD from Cornell University Medical College, portended of great success and we have not been disappointed.

Developing into a superb clinician and outstanding technical surgeon as a resident, she committed the additional time and effort to complete an NIH T32 NIGMS Trauma Fellowship at Harborview studying the aberrant host immunoinflammatory response after severe injury and resuscitation and the clinical impact on Multiple Organ Failure Syndrome and its treatment. She further complemented her training by completing ABS Board training in the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Harborview. Her experiences at HMC cemented her passion for caring for the injured and vulnerable patient that began as an EMT in her home state of Rhode Island, early in her professional career development. Following completion of her formal training, we were indeed fortunate to recruit her to a faculty position in Trauma and Critical Care at Harborview Medical Center and in the UW Department of Surgery in 2000.

Dr. Bulger’s maturation and academic growth led to rapid progression through the ranks to achieve Full Professor rank in 2009. In addition, Dr. Bulger has demonstrated a career long dedication to support and leadership in Department and at HMC. She became Director and Associate Medical Director of Emergency Services in 2009, and Chief of Trauma in 2012 prior to being appointed recently as Associate Medical Director of Surgical Services. If not enough, she also became the champion and Director of the ECLS Program at HMC. While providing excellent leadership, she also has been recognized for her professionalism and dedication to patient care with an Outstanding Consultant Award, HME Cares Award and numerous Top Doctor Recognitions.

Dr. Bulger has also been an outstanding researcher, educator and mentor for our department. She has been a mentor to numerous trainees who were successful not only during their training but also have gone on to become leaders in the field of Trauma and Critical Care. She has been awarded the UW Surgery Distinguished Alumni Award and the John L. Stevenson Award for Resident Teaching. Her professionalism, dedication, calm logical approach and deep respect for all members of the health care team have led to her crucial leadership positions in the institution and admiration by several generations of trainees at all levels. In addition, she has been involved in the departmental and university PEER mentorship program and was a founding member of the Women in Trauma Surgery (WITS) Group, now serving a leadership role across the globe.

Nationally and internationally, Eileen has become a true academic superstar. She has served in numerous leadership positions based on her accomplishments, including being chosen as the first female to Chair the Committee on Trauma of the ACS, the leading clinical, research, educational and quality assurance organization in the nation. During her tenure, her astute abilities as a consensus maker has led to a major break-through to bring the disparate sides together to address the challenges of firearm injuries. She now serves as a faculty staff expert for the ACS in all Trauma related initiatives. Recently, she was elected to the Presidency of the AAST, the largest, most prestigious academic trauma society in the world. And, along the way she has served as the Chair of the Board for the Coalition for National Trauma Research and served on numerous special emphasis panels at the NIH, CDC and DOD. Her investigations in the response to trauma and severe necrotizing infections at the cellular level to the optimal treatment and multi-institutional resuscitation and interventional trials have been recognized for their seminal elucidation of the complex biology and improvements in clinical care which has entailed twenty plus years of continuous federal research funding and nearly 300 peer reviewed publications.

Amongst this vast array of activities, Eileen spends quiet quality time with her beloved husband Doug and two daughters, Natalie and Kelsey, while maintaining her large flower garden. For those who work with Dr. Bulger, she is above all considered a supportive, respectful colleague and educator. All who interact with her appreciate her professionalism and quiet dedicated efforts for her patients and trainees. We have been given a truly outstanding resource, colleague and friend. Please congratulate Dr. Bulger on her recent appointments and long career of dedication and commitment to the most vulnerable patients in our community.

Ronald V. Maier, MD
Professor
Division of Trauma, Burn & Critical Care