2018 Champion Award Winner

Denny Lund, MD was nominated by Former President, Margaret "Muggs" Helin and Laura Koehler, Former APSNA board member. Dr. Lund is described as a highly skilled surgeon and a nationally recognized leader in Pediatric Surgery. He trained under Dr. Hardy Hendren and became one of the few surgeons at that time to perform the complex surgeries to repair cloacal exstrophy, saving the lives of children who previously died from this condition. His patients loved and trusted him, and they traveled from all over the country to obtain their care from him. He had the vision to start the pediatric surgery program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he was Surgeon-in-Chief, and after a few years was instrumental in providing leadership and obtaining funding for a Children’s Hospital, the American Family Children’s Hospital, at the University of Wisconsin. He felt strongly that the only way to truly provide excellent pediatric care, was to have a pediatric focused hospital. We started with 58 beds 10 years ago, and now have over 100 beds, including a level 1 NICU. This very successful Pediatric Surgery program now has 5 surgeons, 4 Nurse Practitioners, and 3 nurses, and participates in many multi-institutional research projects, which is a tribute to Denny’s efforts. Denny has since become the Chief Medical Officer of Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, where he continues to bring his skills, compassion, and leadership to impact the health care of children.