Editor’s Note: Harold Gelfand, MD, FASA, CAPT, MC, USN, joined the United States Navy as a scholarship recipient, feeling he could devote a portion of his career in the service of his nation. Dr. Gelfand found such great reward in serving the defenders of this country both at home and while deployed abroad that he has made it his career. He works to meet the varied and complex needs of the military population, contributing to innovations that have come to benefit society. ASRA Pain Medicine wishes to acknowledge and thank both active military and veterans for contributions they have made to regional anesthesia and pain management in the battlefield and at military hospitals. We wish Dr. Gelfand and all United States military members a happy Veteran’s Day. 

In honor of Veteran’s Day, our November Member Spotlight recognizes Harold Gelfand, MD, FASA, CAPT, MC, USN, nominated by Mary Hargett. Dr. Gelfand is currently the director of the Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management (DVCIPM) in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition to his director status of DVCIPM, Dr. Gelfand is a faculty member of the regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine fellowship at the National Capital Consortium, and a staff anesthesiologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). He is also an associate professor in the department of anesthesiology at USU.

Mary Hargett emphasizes the importance of “acknowledging the service of our active military and veterans, and the contributions they have made to regional anesthesia and pain management in the battlefield and at military hospitals globally…with Dr. Gelfand as the perfect example of a courageous, skilled, and dedicated physician.”

In 2001, Dr. Gelfand received his medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. He then completed a pediatrics internship at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California, an anesthesiology residency at the National Capital Consortium in Bethesda, Maryland, and an obstetrical anesthesia fellowship and regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Gelfand is involved in a plethora of professional memberships activities, including the American Society of Anesthesiologists as a fellow and member, the Joint Council on Anesthesiology Examinations as a senior editor, the Uniformed Services Society of Anesthesiologists as a member, and the Society of Federal Health Professionals (AMSUS) as a member. Dr. Gelfand holds multiple editorial board appointments for several medical journals, and a multitude of committee assignments for a variety of other professional organizations.

Notably, Dr. Gelfand is the recipient of the 2019 SPC Brian Wilhelm Award from DVCIPM for Excellence in the Advancement of Military Regional Anesthesia. He has also been recognized as a Master Clinician at WRNMMC by the Hospital Director and the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff for sustained clinical and academic excellence from 2018 to the present. Dr. Gelfand has also won many military awards, including the Fleet Marine Force Warfare Device, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, three Joint Service Achievement Medals, and others.

Dr. Gelfand has belonged to ASRA Pain Medicine as a member since 2009, and a reviewer of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine since 2015. ASRA Pain Medicine thanks Dr. Gelfand for his dedication and service to the field of anesthesia and our country.