It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of our esteemed friend, Paul J. Demmer. One of the 11 founders of the AO Alliance, Paul J. Demmer passed away in Cape Town, South Africa on January 27, 2022.
Long before signing the AO Alliance into existence, Paul joined the AO Socio-Economic Committee (AO SEC) as a committee member and African representative in 1999, later becoming the chair from 2001 to 2010. Under his leadership, his pioneering efforts to develop and deliver fracture care education in low-resource settings steered AO SEC efforts towards an educational role focusing on nonoperative fracture management.
His insistence on providing nonoperative fracture care education proved to be a masterstroke and led to the formation of a large network of faculty in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. That network, inherited by the AO Alliance when it took over the AO SEC’s activities, has proven to be the driving force for advancing care of the injured. Paul was proud that the AO SEC served LMICs so well for over 20 years.
Paul is survived by Inge, his devoted wife of 56 years, his children Petra and Thomas, and grandchildren Justin and Julia.
Long before signing the AO Alliance into existence, Paul joined the AO Socio-Economic Committee (AO SEC) as a committee member and African representative in 1999, later becoming the chair from 2001 to 2010. Under his leadership, his pioneering efforts to develop and deliver fracture care education in low-resource settings steered AO SEC efforts towards an educational role focusing on nonoperative fracture management.
His insistence on providing nonoperative fracture care education proved to be a masterstroke and led to the formation of a large network of faculty in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. That network, inherited by the AO Alliance when it took over the AO SEC’s activities, has proven to be the driving force for advancing care of the injured. Paul was proud that the AO SEC served LMICs so well for over 20 years.
Paul is survived by Inge, his devoted wife of 56 years, his children Petra and Thomas, and grandchildren Justin and Julia.
His legacy is the AO Alliance ”“ strengthening care of the injured in LMICs.