ACOS is proud to recognize Kelly M. Van Fossen, D.O., FACOS, with the 2026 Guy D. Beaumont, Jr., Award of Academic Excellence.
Dr. Kelly Van Fossen’s career has been defined by the self-evident themes of grit, service, and advocacy. She consistently leans into challenge, whether in athletics, surgery, or medical education.
An accomplished athlete, Dr. Van Fossen was a multi-sport standout in high school, earning athletic hall of fame recognition all four years and setting longstanding school records. She was a collegiate all-conference swimmer at West Virginia Wesleyan College, earning multiple top-ten all-time records in the 500 freestyle and mile—events that, frankly, inspire fear and respect and demand exceptional endurance and discipline. Those same qualities have defined her surgical career. She is known for her calm leadership in complex operative situations and is frequently called upon to lecture on management of the difficult gallbladder and is known to be an efficient and meticulous surgeon.
Dr. Van Fossen earned her medical degree from A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2000 to 2004, where she met her husband, Dr. Duke Matsuyama, an anesthesiologist. She completed her general surgery residency at Grandview Medical Center in 2009. During that time, her husband served in Iraq and was later stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Together, they settled in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she joined Cape Fear Valley Health, a busy 750 bed regional referral center serving a broad and underserved population.
Soon after arriving, Dr. Van Fossen was surprised to recognize that despite the hospital’s clinical volume and diverse pathology, it lacked formal medical education programs. In 2010, she was one of just three physicians to spearhead bringing medical students from VCOM and then Campbell University to the hospital. She was immediately a sought-after and beloved teacher, named Preceptor of the Year multiple times for her exceptional teaching and mentorship.
In 2014, she was tasked to build a new general surgery residency program—an enormous undertaking she accepted out of service to her institution and community. She successfully advocated at the state level to launch the program, secured AOA accreditation in 2015, and then guided it through the ACGME merger to achieve single accreditation in 2018. She accomplished this while maintaining a high-volume surgical practice, recruiting faculty, and raising her two beautiful children, Matthew and Emmie.
As Program Director, Dr. Van Fossen is rigorous, deeply invested, and unwavering in her fierce advocacy for both residents and patients. She combines high standards with genuine personal investment in wholistic trainee development. She jokes that her residents are her “adult children”. She is known to be a detailed and thoughtful teacher who can break things down to digestible and tangible steps. Her legacy as a champion of Osteopathic Surgery in North Carolina is already evident: graduates of her program now include a vascular surgeon, a cardiothoracic surgeon, a trauma and critical care surgeon, three acute care surgeons, and two general surgeons, who thanks to her, are practicing in Fayetteville and the surrounding region.
Dr. Van Fossen has built not only a residency program, but a lasting surgical education legacy for her region.
The Guy D. Beaumont, Jr., FACOS Award of Academic Excellence, established in 2012 by the Board of Governors, honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional organizational leadership and a lasting impact on the advancement of osteopathic surgical education. Named for Guy D. Beaumont, Jr., FACOS—a longtime executive director of the College and the award’s first recipient—this distinction is presented periodically to those who have significantly enhanced the quality of education within AOA/ACOS-accredited surgical training programs and/or continuing medical education initiatives.