Volume 44 Number 2

It has been said that life is a collection of moments. For the wound care world, this moment is filled with great sadness as we and WCET^® say goodbye and recognise Professor Dr Gregory S Schultz. Dr Schultz suddenly passed away in April 2024 while attending a wound conference in the USA. He was an extraordinary educator, whose joy in teaching was very evident. He was never too busy to answer questions and took a special interest in mentoring the next generation of wound care professionals.

He was Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Florida (USA), where he also served as the Director of the Institute for Wound Research.

Professor Schultz was well known globally for his rigorous scientific research and passion for wound care, especially regarding molecular and cellular regulators of normal and chronic wound healing including the role of bacteria and biofilms in delaying wound healing.

To read his CV is to marvel at all his accomplishments.  Professor Schultz was the author or co-author of over 420 publications. A creative inventor, he held over 36 patents and co-founded two biotechnology companies. He was president of the Wound Healing Society, a board member of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP), now known as the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), as well as a member of the Wound Healing Foundation.

When the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists^® produced the 2016 WCET^® Wound Education Toolkit, he graciously gave his time and contributed to one of the units (#7 on Bacteria and Biofilms). Anyone who had the opportunity to view that work or attend one of his many lectures knew his amazing gift of explaining complex concepts of molecular and cellular regulators of wound healing in ways that clinicians could translate this body of work into meaningful care strategies for their own daily practice.

His presentations were always engaging. Greg was approachable and so knowledgeable, yet he was a humble person who had the best sense of humour. Always a gentleman, his smile and laughter were infectious (pun intended). He was enjoyable and fun to spend time with, whether it was for work, co-authoring, co-presenting, sightseeing or having dinner. Even the moments when he went with us to relax, visiting historic and important artistic sites in a city that he was a conference speaker, his sense of curiosity and enthusiasm radiated. He was collegial and very special.

Our personal reflection of Greg Schultz begins in 2002, the moment when all three of us were members of an international consensus panel that was convened to further discuss an emerging framework for preparing the wound bed by optimising the local wound care. Greg served as the chairperson of that international interdisciplinary panel (see figure 1), which resulted in an important seminal paper on Wound Bed Preparation (WBP) published in 2003.¹ Over the years, this became known as TIME and sometimes referred to as DIME. Twenty-one years later, along with us, Greg once again was part of the 42-member author team that expanded this work to take the WBP concept a step further with the emphasis being on resource-restricted settings. By using the Delphi process, 10 statements were assessed regarding the degree of agreement or disagreement. The results of the survey on WBP for communities without ideal resources was published in volume 44, Issue 1 of the 2024 WCET^® Journal.² As with all WCET^® articles, it is available in five languages - English, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish. We hope you enjoyed reading and learning about the latest 10 components of the WBP model shown in figure 2.

Figure 1 WBP Ad Board 2022. Copyright John Gregory, used with permission.

Figure 2 WBP 2024. Copyright WoundPedia, used with permission

Another special moment was September 2023. All three of us, for the first and only time, spoke together on Wound Bed Preparation (see figure 3) at the professional wound care conference for AMCICHAC in Veracruz, Mexico. The audience was engaged in the content, with three speakers co-presenting and, as usual, Greg’s ability to connect with the congress delegates on a personal level. They enjoyed his interactivity with the audience and how we would encourage them to participate in the voting throughout the presentation to enhance their learning (see figure 4).

Figure 3 Dr Gregory Schultz, Dr Elizabeth Ayello, Dr R. Gary Sibbald speaking together on WBP at AMCICHAC Conference. Copyright, used with permission.

Figure 4 Dr Gregory Schultz at the podium at AMCICHAC conference. Note the slide on WBP. Copyright, used with permission.

He has left a permanent mark on wound healing through his rigorous research, numerous publications and dedication to educating clinicians so patient care could be enhanced. Professor Schultz impacted many lives of the wound healing world by his extensive scientific endeavors and educational offerings.

We send our deepest condolences to his wife Ruth and the rest of his family, friends and colleagues; as well as to colleagues in professional journals and organisations that Greg was an important contributor to. Although there were so many moments in his lifetime- achievements, honours and other happy moments, his passing leaves us longing for more. Look for one last publication of which he is a co-author that will be published later this year.

Thank you, Greg, for all that you have given us and the global wound care world. We will miss you. May you rest in peace after all your impactful life moments and job well done.

Sincerely, in tribute and remembrance.

Elizabeth and Gary

Author(s)

Elizabeth A Ayello
PhD RN CWON ETN MAWPCA FAAN
New York, USA

R Gary Sibbald
MD Med FRCPC (Med Derm) FAAD MAPWCA JM
Ontario, Canada

References

1. Schultz, G.S., Sibbald, G., Falanga, V., Ayello, E.A.,, Dowsett, C., Harding, K., Romanelli, M., Stacey, M., Teot, L., Vanscheidt, W. Wound Bed Preparation: A systematic approach to wound management. Wound Repair and Regeneration. 2003; 11(2 Supplement):S1- S28.
2. Smart H Sibbald RG, Goodman L, Ayello EA, Jaimangal R, Gregory JH et al. Wound bed preparation 2024: Delphi consensus on foot ulcer management in resource-limited settings. WCET Journal. 2024;44(1):13-35.