2023 Distinguished Service Award Recipient

Dr. Jose C. A. Carvalho from Mount Sinai Hospital & the University of Toronto

The Distinguished Service Award, the highest honour our organization can bestow, recognizes the recipient’s outstanding contributions to the care of patients and their representation and promotion of the profession of anesthesiology.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jose C. A. Carvalho was selected to receive the 2023 Ontario’s Anesthesiologists Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Carvalho graduated from medical school at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil in 1977, where he also completed his residency in anesthesiology and a Master’s and PhD in pharmacology. He was also a professor at that institution for 25 years.

During those years, Dr. Carvalho served the Brazilian Society of Anesthesiology in many different capacities, including as chair of the Board of Examiners and Co-editor of the Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology. At an international level, he served the American Society of Regional Anesthesia in various capacities including as a member of the ASRA board of directors and associate editor of the Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Journal. In 2022, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia for his role in the advancement of regional anesthesia in Latin America and within ASRA itself.

In 2002, Dr. Carvalho relocated to Toronto to take on the role that most of us know him for: Director of Obstetric Anesthesia at Mount Sinai Hospital. During his 20 years in this position, he transformed obstetrical anesthesia care at Mount Sinai, making it a world leader in maternal health.

Since arriving at Mount Sinai Hospital, Dr. Carvalho has contributed to more than 133 publications in peer-reviewed journals and his research has received dozens of awards. He has served the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology as a member of the Board of Directors and was also selected to present the Fred Hehre lecture in 2019.

Dr. Carvalho was promoted to full professor of Anesthesia and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Toronto in 2010.

Outstanding Contributions to Patient Care

The unifying theme behind Dr. Carvalho’s career has always been maternal safety. He is fiercely dedicated to caring for peripartum women and ensuring positive outcomes for them and their babies.

His patient-centred approach to their care led to the development of regular educational prenatal sessions. Participants came away from these sessions with a strong sense of being supported through their pregnancy and delivery journey.

This focus on patient-centred care extended to the hospital’s residents as Dr. Carvalho has also been the driving force in ensuring they received evidence-based training to care for pregnant patients. Notably, he developed an integrated teaching program from simulator-to-patient, providing a model for introducing safe, neuraxial anesthesia.

High-risk obstetric anesthesia care has been of particular interest to Dr. Carvalho, and as a result, he has shaped Mount Sinai Hospital’s development as a national and international leader in the provision of such care.

Dr. Carvalho has led a wide number of practice change initiatives. He was one of the pioneers of the introduction of spinal ultrasound to facilitate neuraxial anesthesia, which revolutionized the practice of neuraxial anesthesia for patients with difficult spine, particularly those with obesity and scoliosis. He has been instrumental in teaching and promoting spinal ultrasound assessment around the world for the past 15 years, assisting in making the technique a worldwide practice.

Alongside his close research collaborators, he extensively studied strategies to prevent and treat postpartum hemorrhage, particularly the use of uterotonics, contributing to the advancement of practice guidelines worldwide. His research was also instrumental in advancing the quality of postpartum analgesia and introducing modern labor analgesia techniques including the novel programmed intermittent epidural bolus technique.

Leadership

Dr. Carvalho’s commitment to best practices in obstetrical anesthesia is only surpassed by his outstanding inquisitive mind and the ability to transform that curiosity into a leadership style that has pushed Mount Sinai Hospital to the forefront of care, not only in anesthesia but also in obstetrics.

Notably, he has been a leader in providing continuing medical education through his management of the University of Toronto Obstetric Anesthesia Conference.

Dr. Carvalho is well-known as an excellent collaborator, working closely with other health-care professionals to ensure the best possible patient care in a collegial working environment. He has a reputation for being generous with his time and knowledge and is eager to disseminate his insights to anesthesia residents and colleagues, as well as to our allied health-care providers, including anesthesia assistants, labor and delivery nurses, and our obstetric colleagues.

Promotion of the Profession of Anesthesiology

Dr. Carvalho has had an enormous impact on our profession and its growth through his work as a teacher. With a focus on asking questions that can influence everyday practice, Dr. Carvalho has taught hundreds of residents and over 200 fellows from over 20 countries in the hospital’s Obstetrical Anesthesia Fellowship Program. His trainees are now worldwide, and Dr. Carvalho has influenced obstetric care in countless countries through them.

Dr. Carvalho has received numerous teaching awards, including teacher of the year, but perhaps the best evidence of his skills as a teacher is that many of his trainees have become leaders in their respective institutions and continue to reach out to Dr. Carvalho for his valuable advice.

His vast knowledge and experience are continuously sought after by anesthesiologists and obstetricians from around the globe. He has been invited to share that knowledge at countless conferences and meetings and has also been a visiting professor at over a dozen schools worldwide, resulting in a truly international influence on our profession.

We thank Dr. Carvalho for his distinguished service to the profession. We congratulate his many outstanding achievements and are thrilled to honour his work with our 2023 Distinguished Service Award.