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ASNM Members and Friends,
The best way to capture the true essence of Dr. Jack Kartush is presented in his own words on a podcast with James Watt. (link to podcast)
It is important to celebrate the accomplishments of Jack Kartush as a memorial in the context of his commitment to our Society; the memoriam of Dr. Karush as written by his partners of the Michigan Ear Institute is an excellent representation of his medical accomplishments.
Just 5 years out of his neuro-otology fellowship, Dr. Kartush envisioned linking together the community of neuromonitoring. Jack saw an opportunity to bring together the active participants in neuromonitoring and organize the future direction as a field of medicine. On April 11th, 1989, Jack sent a letter to a group of individuals with interest in neurophysiological monitoring, with follow-up letter on June 10th, 1989, setting up an organizational meeting.
On September 9th, 1989, Jack requested the presence of intraoperative monitoring interested and practicing individuals to the Holiday Inn Hotel in Detroit (just off the airport campus, complete with green shag carpeting). The individuals represented specialties of neuro-otology, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, audiology, engineering and neurophysiology.
Jack seldom was unintentional, lead off the conversation with his now famous phrase, “no monitoring is better than poor monitoring” and stated the mission (indeed the responsibility) of the group was to coalesce around engaging all stakeholders of intraoperative monitoring to advance the practice and science of neuromonitoring centered on patient outcome, consistency and standardization, through a platform of education and outcome via a scientific model. And so, the American Society of Evoked Potential Monitoring was born on that day.
Jack set forth to work with Providence Hospital to sponsor the first meeting of the intraoperative community in the spring of 1990. During those months, Jack envisioned consistent communication of the “ASEPM” . He quickly encouraged official recognition of a medical Society (incorporation, banking, mailing location, goals and expanding an inclusive membership and ultimately in 1991 he and Dr. Moller encouraged renaming the Society to the American Society of Neurophysiological Monitoring (ASNM) to include non-evoked potentials neurophysiology, EMG and EEG. And in 1991, we hosted the 1st ASEPM / ASNM sponsored conference in Minneapolis, MN, where Jack helped solicit an incredible lineup of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and neurophysiologists as presenters.
Jack pursued the path of the ASNM in the way he pursued surgery. When you watched Jack operate his hands were coordinated and every motion was purposeful And over those first few years of the Society, that was his leadership style, Raison D’etre. Every step of the way, he pursued goals, planning and execution with great passion and purpose. As a reference, in those days the primary communication was the US mail and fax machines. Jack passion to execute and ability to work well beyond patient care, we generated hundreds, if not thousands, of letters to Board members, Advisory Board members and national and international members and potential members.
In addition to the ASEPM/ASNM work Jack read, wrote and published with fervor, and Jack developed technology focused on ease of operation, tools fitting the surgeon and enabling patients to smile after surgery. Jack’s contributions to monitoring for patients “to smile” after otologic and neuro-otologic surgery was shared with fellow Advisory Board member Richard Prass, M.D.
Dr. Kartush co-authored the textbook ‘Handbook of Balance Function Testing with Gary Jacobson, Ph.D., the fourth President of ASNM in 1993, co-authored the textbook Neuromonitoring in Otology and Head and Neck Surgery, with ASNM Board member, Kenneth Boushard.
Dr. Kartush, challenged colleagues “active” neuromonitoring, adaptation of checks and balances in developing standards reducing potential errors in neurophysiological monitoring by promoting electrode color coding conventions, utilizing a neurophysiological “time out” with the surgeon, anesthesia and neuromonitoring, standardizing a checklist, and standardization of IONM methods. Culminating in the special edition of The Laryngoscope “Best Practices of Facial Nerve Monitoring” published in 2021 with former ASNM Presidents Robert Minnehan and Charles Yingling and President-elect Kent Rice and former ASNM Board members Christoff Schaubert and Gene Balzer. To date this document has over 5,408 “reads” and 36 references via Research Gate, alone!
Jack had outside passions for golf and music. He played golf with the same precision as he operated, but Jack was most notably a prolific musician, song writer and performer.
Dr. Kartush challenged the founders of the ASNM with the same prevision, innovation and passion as he challenged himself surgically, musically and as a father and husband.
I miss my friend and mentor every day, but his spirit inspires me with every Eagles song on the radio.
Best,
Gene Balzer, PhD, FASNM