Ascension Sacred Heart’s thriving Orthopedic Fellowship Program earns prestigious accreditation

Drs. Kurt Morrison and Eugene Dabezies, Jr., fellowship trained, board certified total joint surgeons at Ascension Sacred Heart, wanted the best training possible for a new doctor joining the team in 2021. Rather than rely on an outside orthopedic training fellowship program, they created their own. That vision has become The Gulf Coast Adult Reconstruction Fellowship - a highly competitive, fully accredited program that's training the next generation of orthopedic surgeons while elevating the standard of care at Ascension Sacred Heart.

"Our passion for incorporating academia into this program comes from our fathers, who both served as Orthopedic Residency Directors," said Dr. Morrison, who co-directs the fellowship with Dr. Dabezies. "We each had the privilege of training under our fathers - Dr. Dabezies at LSU and myself at Michigan State - and their dedication to education continues to inspire the work we do today."

Dr. Scott Stewart, the practice's third full-time total joint surgeon and the first fellow to graduate in 2021, now serves as contributing faculty. Also central to the program's success is Kristen Sylvester, Regional Director of Orthopedics Clinic Operations at Ascension Sacred Heart, who was instrumental in its development and ongoing management.

The fellowship became accredited by the prestigious American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), effective July 1, 2025.

"The accreditation validates the work our team has been doing since day one," Sylvester said. "It also standardizes the way fellows report case data and ensures our program meets - and exceeds - national standards."

As the only orthopedic adult reconstructionfellowship program in the region, the Gulf Coast Adult Reconstruction Fellowship not only keeps the surgical team on the cutting edge of innovation - it also brings some of the nation's most promising orthopedic talent to the Gulf Coast.

"One of the great benefits of the fellowship is that it enables us to take on more complex cases," Dr. Morrison said. "Having a fellow challenges us to keep learning and improving. It brings additional capability and depth to the care we provide our community."

Six fellows have graduated since starting the program and consistently fill open spots well into the future. The fellows, who have come from all across the United States, spend a year training at Ascension Sacred Heart and then move on to practice in a variety of healthcare settings and locations. It's easy to see why the program has become so popular.

"My experience at the adult reconstruction fellowship in Pensacola was the best year of my life. I cannot speak highly enough about the quality of training that I received," said Roger Gregush, who went through the program in 2022-23 and now practices in Wisconsin. "I felt fairly confident coming out of residency in terms of my orthopedic knowledge and surgical skills. My fellowship experience provided me with an elite skill set that I think most surgeons are not fortunate to experience. The pathology that I was exposed to as well as the volume of revisions was phenomenal."

"I wanted to go somewhere that had a wonderful environment, a good hospital that is very supportive, and I found it in this program," said Dr. Christopher Yun, the program's current fellow. "After completion of the fellowship I will be fully prepared to begin the next chapter of my career."

The Sacred Heart orthopedic surgeons perform a significant number of hip and knee surgeries, with 1,354 procedures completed in the last 12 months - a number consistent with the volume in recent years.

The Joint Replacement Center at Ascension Sacred Heart has been accredited for over a decade by The Joint Commission and is also accredited for Hip Fracture treatment. It recently received a certificate of Advanced Certification for Hip and Knee Replacements

Ascension Sacred Heart has been recognized as one of the nation's top 100 hospitals for advanced orthopedic care - 10 years in a row.

To learn more about Ascension Sacred Heart Orthopedics or to schedule an appointment, visit the website or call (850) 494-9000.