Ernest Braxton is a clinical leader in the areas of medical quality and health care administration. He is currently Partner and Board Member at Vail Summit Orthopedics and Neurosurgery and serves as a team physician for both the US Ski and Snowboard Team and the USA Nordic Team. Prior to this he was the Chief of Neurosurgery at San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC). SAMMC is the Department of Defense’s largest medical treatment facility and has the highest acuity and volume of any hospital in our military health system.
Dr. Braxton is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and an Afghanistan war veteran with extensive experience caring for complex combat injuries during Operation Enduring Freedom. During his military service he was the Theater Neurosurgeon In Charge while deployed in Afghanistan where he contributed to the 96% survivability rate for incoming wounded. While working in a combat zone he acquired extensive experience with blast and traumatic brain injuries, complex spinal fractures resulting from high-energy improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as the logistical responsibility for managing neurotrauma patients in medically austere environments.
He completed medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and neurosurgical residency at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh. While in Pittsburgh, he earned his MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (MBA) and rang the opening bell at the NASDAQ for his accomplishments in the field of entrepreneurship. Dr. Braxton currently serves as a consultant to several leading medical device companies in the field of surgeon education and technology innovation.
Ernest is an actively practicing board certified neurosurgeon and serves on the medical quality assurance board at the Vail Valley Surgery Center. He is a regular contributor and panelist for Becker’s Healthcare and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications. Use this link to view publications by Dr Braxton.
When out of the OR, he is a champion for the prevention and management of brain injury and for improving medical quality in rural health care systems.