Lifebox Welcomes Two New Board Members

Drs. Abrego and McDougall are leading pediatric anesthesiologists in the Central America and Pacific – Asia regions respectively and bring a wealth of expertise to the Lifebox Global Governance Council.

Dr. Abrego serves as Head of Anesthesia at the Benjamin Bloom’s Children Hospital in San Salvador, El Salvador’s leading children’s hospital. Dr. McDougall is a pediatric anesthesiologist and Deputy Director of the Department of Pediatric Anesthesia and Pain Management at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. Both Drs. Abrego and McDougall have supported Lifebox’s pulse oximetry work and training since Lifebox’s founding in 2011 and have both actively supported its global COVID-19 response.

“Lifebox is honored to welcome these two leading anesthesiologists to the Lifebox Global Governance Council. Drs. Abrego and McDougall each bring highly valued expertise in surgery and anesthesia to Lifebox that will inform our global work to make surgery and anesthesia safer everywhere.” Kris Torgeson, Lifebox Global CEO.

Dr. Susana del Carmen Abrego Tobar
Dr. Abrego is a pediatric anesthesiologist and Head of Anesthesia at the Benjamin Bloom’s Children Hospital in San Salvador, El Salvador’s leading children’s hospital and Professor of Anesthesiology at the National University of El Salvador. Dr. Abrego Dr. Abrego serves as President of El Salvador’s Anesthesia Society – the Asociación de Médicos Anestesiólogos de El Salvador (AMAES) – which is a member of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. She is also an active member of the Confederación Latinoamericana de Sociedades de Anestesia (CLASA), the network of Latin American anesthesia societies.

Dr. Abrego has served as Lifebox regional lead in Central America for the last four years, developing and implementing Lifebox programs across the region including pulse oximetry and the Surgical Safety Checklist. She is also a lead trainer for the Lifebox Surgical Safety Checklist workshop and the COVID-19 Surgical Patient Checklist Train-the Trainer workshop.

“I am honored to be appointed to the Lifebox Global Governance Council. Lifebox is an organization that I have worked with since 2012 when I supported the distribution of pulse oximeters and training to my anesthesia colleagues throughout El Salvador,” Dr. Abrego, pediatric anesthesiologist and Head of Anesthesia, Benjamin Bloom’s Children Hospital, El Salvador and Lifebox Global Governance Council member.

Dr. Rob McDougall
Rob McDougall MBBS, FANZCA, Grad. Cert Health Prof. Education, GAICD is a specialist pediatric anesthesiologist and Deputy Director of the Department of Pediatric Anesthesia and Pain Management at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. He is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne. He completed an eight-year term on the Council of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) in 2016. Dr. McDougall is currently Senior Editor, Global Health Section of Anesthesia & Analgesia and an external examiner for the Fiji National University. Dr. McDougall has extensive experience in education in anesthesia and resuscitation in Asia and Australasia and is a former trustee of the Primary Trauma Care Foundation. He has been involved with Lifebox as a volunteer since its inception and is an active member of Lifebox Australia – New Zealand (Lifebox ANZ) where he has helped to raise funds through the Australian anesthesia network to supply pulse oximeters and training and COVID-19 response throughout the Pacific – Asia region.

“I’ve enjoyed contributing to Lifebox as a volunteer since the beginning working to improve the availability of pulse oximetry in the Asia – Pacific region and most recently the COVID-19 response. I am looking forward to being part of a fantastic team as a Board member to strengthen anesthesia and surgical safety globally” Dr. Rob McDougall, pediatric anesthesiologist, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, and Lifebox Global Governance Council member.

The Lifebox Global Governance Council, chaired by Dr. Atul Gawande, brings together decades of clinical, research, and resource management experience to govern Lifebox’s global team and safer surgery vision. These appointments bring the total number of countries represented by the Lifebox Global Governance Council to eight. See the other Lifebox Board members here.