Nationally Recognized Anesthesiologist Joins the UC College of Medicine and The University Hospital

William Edward Hurford, MD, has joined the UC College of Medicine and The University Hospital as professor and chair of anesthesia.  He assumed his new position on Oct. 1.

Dr. Hurford comes to Cincinnati from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he was director of critical care in the department of anesthesia and critical care, and as an associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. He received his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After residency training in anesthesiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he completed fellowship training in thoracic anesthesia and critical care.

He most recently served as director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital; director of the fellowship program in anesthesia/critical care; and has served as an attending anesthesiologist caring for patients undergoing thoracic surgical procedures for more than 15 years.

Dr. Hurford has published over 100 scientific articles and reviews and has edited several popular texts in anesthesia and critical care. His broad research interests include inhaled nitric oxide therapy and the metabolic and physiologic consequences of hypoxia.  His research on the physiology of breath-hold diving was acknowledged by award of the Antarctic Service Medal by the U.S. Antarctic Research Program and the National Science Foundation. 

Dr. Hurford is a highly regarded speaker on a wide variety of topics in anesthesia and critical care.  He has been invited to lecture at national meetings of the American Thoracic Society, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and at many international symposiums. He currently serves as editor in chief of the International Anesthesiology Clinics and is on the editorial boards of the

Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.

"Dr. Hurford will be a great asset to The University Hospital," says James Hurst, MD, senior vice president of The University Hospital. "With our high surgery volumes and complicated trauma cases, anesthesia is obviously very important to the hospital. I can't tell you how pleased I am that we have recruited Dr. Hurford to lead our anesthesia department."

"The successful recruitment of Dr. Hurford as chair of anesthesia is critical to completing our strategy of having UC provide the very best surgical services in the Midwest," says William J. Martin II, MD, dean of the UC College of Medicine. "Dr. Hurford will be joining us from Massachusetts General Hospital where he is a nationally recognized leader in anesthesiology. We expect him to build premier clinical, educational and research programs at The University Hospital as well as work closely with our colleagues at other hospitals of the Health Alliance and in the community."

The UC College of Medicine, founded in 1819 by Daniel Drake, is well known for its excellence in clinical care, education and research. One of four colleges within the UC Medical Center, the College of Medicine is made up of over 1,000 faculty and nearly 1,000 graduate and medical students.

The University  Hospital is part of the Health Alliance, an integrated health care delivery system that also includes The Christ Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Jewish Hospital, The Fort Hamilton Hospital and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care.