Sadly, having succumbed to complications from his long illness, industry veteran Leslie R. Atles, CCE, CBET passed away on February 20, 2013.
Leslie R. Atles, CCE, CBET, was the chief biomedical engineer at the VA greater Los Angeles Healthcare System for the last 3 years. Previously, he held positions as the director of technology management for Masterplan (now ARAMARK Healthcare Technologies), as the national biomedical advisor for Marquette Medical Systems (now GE Healthcare), and as the director of biomedical engineering at St Vincent Medical Center, Los Angeles.
A very active member of the profession, he mentored many biomedical professionals. He had a long association with the California Medical Instrumentation Association (CMIA) where he had served as president and had the notable distinction of being a Lifetime Member. He received the CMIA Professional of Year Award in 2009 and the American College of Clinical Engineering Marv Shepherd Patient Safety Award in 2010.
Atles created and edited the celebrated book A Practicum for Biomedical Engineering and Management Issues, published by Kendall-Hunt in 2008, which is a comprehensive biomedical resource consisting of 55 chapters by 30 experts in the field. Previously, he had co-authored (with Scott Segalewitz) the well-known guide for BMETs titled Affinity: Reference Guide for Biomedical Technicians. He also developed in 1994 the original version of the current AAMI guide on How to Establish and Maintain a Local Biomedical Organization.
He will be missed by many.
