Stephen Robert Hays, MS, MD, FAAP, is Clinical Professor of Anesthesia & Pediatrics at University of Iowa (UI) Hospitals & Clinics, Director of Pediatric Pain Services at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, and Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs & Development, Department of Anesthesia, UI Carver College of Medicine. A native of Syracuse, NY and Presidential Scholar, they earned simultaneous B.S. / M.S. in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry summa cum laude with Distinction in the Major from Yale University, where they were elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. They earned their M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University, where they remained for Internship & Residency in Pediatrics, Residency in Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, and Fellowships in Pediatric Anesthesia & Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. They moved to Nashville and Vanderbilt University in 1999 and to Iowa City and UI in 2019.
Dr. Hays is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and a member of the AAP including its Sections on Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine (SOAPM), Critical Care Medicine, and Hospice & Palliative Medicine (SOHPM). They serve on the AAP SOHPM Membership & Internal Communications Work Group, and at this year's meeting will complete their service on the AAP SOAPM Executive Committee. They are a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and have served on the ASA Committees on Pediatric Anesthesiology and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. A Full Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), they serve on the ABA Standardized Oral Exam and Objective Standardized Clinical Examination Committees, and as the ABA representative to the American Board of Internal Medicine Hospice & Palliative Medicine Advisory Committee. At this year's meeting Dr. Hays will become Vice President of the Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine (SPPM), a section of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, having previously served on the SPPM Board of Directors and then as SPPM Secretary-Treasurer. Dr. Hays is Board-Certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Anesthesiology, Pediatric Anesthesiology, and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. They received a 2004-2005 Vanderbilt Department of Anesthesiology Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, as well as the 2011 Sandidge Pediatric Pain Management Award in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Pediatric Pain Management at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Dr. Hays' current clinical practice focuses on perioperative care of children of all ages, with particular interests in pediatric regional anesthesia and pediatric pain management. Their clinical time is divided among the pediatric operating room, the inpatient pediatric pain & palliative care services, and various pediatric outpatient clinics. Their research interests have included industry-funded pharmaceutical licensing studies of analgesic agents in children, as well as multi-institutional studies of potential pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity. Dr. Hays regularly presents at local, regional, and national meetings, and has been a named author on numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts and textbook chapters. They currently live in Iowa City with their spouse, Deborah. They have two adult children.
