Physician Titans of Care

George Bedon, MD, GBMC's Division Head of Pulmonary Medicine, started working at GBMC in 1969, encouraged by then Chairman of Medicine, Thaddeus Prout, to develop GBMC's first comprehensive pulmonary program. Excited for the challenge, Dr. Bedon began by creating a respiratory therapy department and an ICU for patients with pulmonary and other critical diseases to cater to the specific needs of these patients with specialists who focused exclusively on pulmonary medicine. Over the years, Dr. Bedon also introduced GBMC's pulmonary blood gas lab as well as the pulmonary function lab, which rounded out the all-inclusive program that benefits patients with a variety of pulmonary conditions today. 

Throughout his career at GBMC, Dr. Bedon has appreciated the collaborative spirit that existed between him and the various departments, and credits the establishment of positive relationships with clinicians, surgeons as well as nurses, respiratory therapists and support staff with the growth and success of GBMC's pulmonary division. In particular, he says, Dr. Stonesifer, then Chief of Surgery, was a key influence to the pulmonary division. 

Teaching residents and interns who were eager to learn new methods and techniques in pulmonary medicine has been a highlight of Dr. Bedon's career. He has also taken great pride in establishing good rapport with his patients, always keen on taking time to talk to people and getting to know them in order to provide the best care possible. In turn, he teaches residents and students the importance of cultivating relationships with patients. "Talk to them, get to know them and spend time with them," he advises. 

For Dr. Bedon GBMC is truly a family hospital. "I feel it, and the patients feel it," he says. He says that his own children and his grandchildren were born at the hospital and GBMC has taken care of his wife and himself during times of illness. "GBMC is our family hospital, too."

John E. Adams, MD, a highly respected pathologist, served as Chairman of the Department of Pathology at GBMC since its opening in 1965. He spent the next 25 years growing the department from six to 150 pathologists as well as designing integral laboratory programs and services. 

After receiving his medical degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in 1956 and completing his medical training, he served in the Air Force, where he was chief pathologist at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. After his discharge and further medical training including assistant resident in pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1960 to 1962, he returned to Baltimore in 1962 where he was a fellow in forensic pathology in the state medical examiner's office. In 1963, he was named assistant medical examiner, a position he later resigned to join GBMC in 1965. 

During his career at GBMC, Dr. Adams developed many vital laboratory programs including full laboratory support of the hospital's prenatal counseling center and fertility center. He also created a computerized laboratory that provided audio-visual communications to serve as a link between pathologists in the lab and surgeons in the operating room. Dr. Adams served as Vice Chief of the medical staff for four terms and also served on many medical committees at the hospital. He was described by colleagues as a visionary leader and excellent pathologist and was also was an active leader in biomedical ethics. 

Dr. Adams left GBMC in 1990 to start a consulting practice in forensic pathology. Active in pathology and laboratory medicine for decades, Dr. Adams was also the founder and medical director of the state’s first toxicology laboratory and he also established a laboratory specializing in gynecological pathology. A staunch advocate for and teacher of medical ethics, he served as Chair of the state Board of Medical Discipline for many years. Dr. Adams retired from medicine in 2005 and enjoyed sailing and flying his single-engine plane before his passing in 2012 at age 82.

With a career that has spanned 33 years at GBMC as a radiation oncologist, Dr. Albert Blumberg knew early on in his medical training that the field of oncology was the right fit. Dr. Blumberg began his training in radiation oncology in 1975 and started his career at GBMC in 1981. Throughout his career at GBMC, Dr. Blumberg has been an instrumental part of a team that has brought significant advances to the department through groundbreaking radiological technology and the offering of advanced services and techniques, many of which, he states, were not even on the horizon when the department began in 1981. Dr. Blumberg is proud of the high level of excellent care he and his colleagues have delivered to patients for more than three decades. And, he feels that his colleagues, staff and the patients have made the Department of Radiation Oncology a very special place to work. 

The interactions with patients and families over his career has had a profound effect on Dr. Blumberg as a doctor. Believing passionately that people should be treated in a way you’d want your family members to be treated, he says, “We’re all shaped by the interactions we have with people. “In oncology, we can help so many people in so many ways. The connections I have with my patients clearly reinforces who I am as a person, and as a physician.” As for advice for the next generation of physicians, Dr. Blumberg adds, “People trust their lives, their cares, their fears, and their hopes to us as doctors. Being in the position to help others is very special and we should be proud that we are doing work that helps people.”

The first physician to open a pediatric practice at GBMC, John Boscia, MD served the community's children for more than 20 years: treating extended families, children of parents he treated and some folks well into their 20s because they didn’t want to go anywhere else. John dedicated his career to caring and advocating for some of the most medically-challenged patients in our area because he could relate to them due to some of his own childhood challenges. 

Dr. Boscia was a deeply compassionate physician with outstanding clinical skills and impeccable character, loved by his patients and respected by his peers. He was known as a "true pillar in the department of pediatrics" and "a fount of knowledge when it came to pediatric medicine." 

Dr. Boscia served as vice-chair of pediatrics from 1993 to 2013, and served as acting chairman following Dr. Stephen Amato's retirement in 1998. Dr. Tim Doran – current chair of the Department, who took over after Stephen – said he thought Dr. Boscia would have been given the seat had he advocated for it at the time, but he was a humble man who didn't want the spotlight and only wanted to focus on treating patients. 

A kind, compassionate and generous pediatrician, he was respected throughout the hospital for his ability to work with other departments in a positive and collaborative manner. His sign off on emails was "Peace in the Middle East." 

Dr. Boscia passed away earlier this year, but had left the practice three years ago due to his health. Patients continued to ask about him daily. Colleagues said he was always composed, no matter what chaos was coming about. 

Dr. Theresa Nguyen, whose first interaction with John was in her phone interview with him 17 years ago while he cooked and played music in the background, said, "John exemplified the best qualities of the pediatrician you would want caring for your child. His compassion, kindness and devotion to his patients were unmatched. He is famously remembered by one family for calling while he was on vacation, immediately after their child had received a life-threatening diagnosis in the ED. The family was shocked he called them." 

He was also fiercely loyal at his colleagues. Dr. Doran remembers letting some members of the team go after becoming chairman of the department and receiving a strongly-worded letter from Dr. Boscia, voicing his displeasure. Months later, Dr. Doran would receive a second letter from Dr. Boscia retracting his reaction and complimenting Dr. Doran on his decision-making, but his initial reaction to defend his colleagues speaks volumes of Dr. Boscia's personality. 

Dr. Boscia was chosen as a Titan for being the true embodiment of GBMC's vision of treating every patient, every time as you would your own loved one; for being the kind of physician every parent wishes for their child. His legacy can best be expressed by a quote from one of his families. 

"I began taking my kids to Dr. Boscia in 1996. I was recommended to him by a friend of my sister's who went to high school with him. I had a set of 2-year-old twins and a 1-year-old daughter, and I was pregnant with twins. My kids fell in love with him on the first day because of his funny Donald Duck voice. One day, my son asked about Dr. B's "funny hand" and what a great opportunity it was for me as a mom to explain to my kids that, despite a physical disability, he became a doctor. He did not let that hold him back and that was only one of the many reasons we came to respect him as a doctor and a man. 

My second set of twins ended up having some issues and he again showed compassion and wisdom. He was humble. He also NEVER made me feel as if my questions were dumb. I trusted him immensely. 

After he retired, he sent my two youngest daughters' birthday cards every year. My one precious daughter passed away this past December due to pneumonia and Dr. Boscia sent me the kindest note, which I have framed. After my divorce in 2007, my kids told me I should marry Dr. Boscia, which just goes to show you how much respect and love they had for their awesome Dr. Boscia." 

- Cherie Valentine

"I'm not a prosecutor. I am an independent scientific observer. I thought to do the best job I could do under the circumstances and not expect rewards." 

This is a humble statement from a 2009 Baltimore magazine article highlighting Dr. Rudiger Breitenecker's work in collecting forensic evidence that was ahead of its time. 

Before becoming a member of GBMC's Department of Pathology in 1967, Dr. Breitnecker was a state medical examiner. The rising feminist movement and increasing activism on behalf of rape victims prompted him to found GBMC's Rape Care Center – the precursor to our current SAFE Program –where he used the knowledge gained while collecting evidence for city homicides. 

"In previous years, alleged rape victims were taken to the University of Maryland, where junior personnel examined them after sometimes eight or 10 or 12 hours wait," Breitenecker said. "I thought this was atrocious. Women deserved better care than that." 

Trained as a forensic pathologist, Dr. Breitenecker took samples of fluid, sperm, semen and other substances and froze a few drops from each case, preserving the evidence for the future without some in the department even realizing what he was doing. He was influenced by Paul Kirk, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley who first introduced the idea of DNA matching. At first, Dr. Breitenecker thought Kirk was crazy, but he listened to a small bit of skepticism and his decision to save samples plus Maryland's no statute of limitations on rape has led to peace and closure for many women. 

Often called a pioneer, Dr. Breitenecker participated in more than 2,000 rape cases and was often the only physician to testify in court. In 2008, he was retired but still active in court consulting as an expert witness. 

According to Sergeant Rose Brady of the Baltimore County Police Department, "as of 2016, we have retrieved 158 SAFE kits and have received 101 CODIS (DNA) hits. We have cleared, by arrest, 84 of these cases. The sentencing for these monsters has been anywhere from 20 years to life, most suspects are receiving life!" 

"As far as I know, we are the only police department that has the ability to access evidence from a hospital that saved the doctor's slides on all rapes. 

"We would not have as many CODIS hits on cold cases going back more than 30 years without his foresight into the future of DNA." 

And she said personally, "Dr. B. absolutely deserves all the honors that anyone can give him."

At a very young age, Robert K. Brookland, MD, wanted to help others. The swiftly evolving field of radiation oncology was a wonderful fit for Dr. Brookland who began his career at GBMC’s Radiation Oncology Department in 1984 and became the Chairman of the department in 1996. 

Dr. Brookland has watched the department evolve and grow at a rapid pace as new and highly sophisticated radiation therapy technologies such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) have changed patient care for the better. “GBMC was the first department in the region to offer such novel treatments on a routine clinical basis,” says Dr. Brookland. As Chairman, he also helped bring such groundbreaking innovations to GBMC as high dose rate outpatient brachytherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. In the department, he’s helped implement sophisticated forms of treatment planning using CT scans and pet scans as well as new radioisotopes which have also allowed for more targeted forms of radiation therapy. 

Dr. Brookland also believes in giving back to the community through medicine, which has influenced his volunteer work with a number of local and national cancer organizations. Working in radiation oncology, he says, has provided him with the opportunity to help improve people’s quality of life. “Many doctors have gone into this profession because it is truly a calling; because we believe that we have the gifts, abilities and opportunities to give in a way that not everybody is able to give.” 

He has enjoyed working with so many high caliber people during his 30 years at GBMC. “This includes my entire staff in radiation oncology from the very warm front desk staff and the compassionate RNs, to the radiation therapy technologists, dosimetrists and physicists who make the delivery of such complex treatments not only possible but incredibly safe.”

James Buck, MD, was not always a pediatric surgeon. In fact, he was a practicing veterinarian before he realized he wanted to go to medical school, where he returned to find another passion – pediatric surgery. After finishing his medical training in 1981, he left academic medicine in 1985 to practice in the community, beginning his work at GBMC in 1986. 

In the mid-1980s, the pediatric department at GBMC was growing and the need for pediatric specialists and surgeons to care for the unique needs of children was also rising. With more pediatric anesthesiologists joining the surgical staff, Dr. Buck’s expertise was being increasingly called upon, and he built up the practice of community hospital-based pediatric surgery to great heights. Since then, Dr. Buck has been part of the team at the Sherwood Surgical Center that focuses on caring for the physical and emotional needs of pediatric surgical patients. He also expanded pediatric surgery to families and newborns in need in GBMC’s NICU. “It’s comforting for families to know that they can stay in the hospital where their baby was born and have the specialized surgical services they need. This type of care is critical for families,” he adds. 

In addition to helping GBMC grow into a hospital known for quality outpatient pediatric surgery, Dr. Buck’s contributions have positively impacted the way in which children are cared for in the OR as well as GBMC’s pediatric ED and inpatient unit. “If you can make what families initially perceive as scary and turn it into a positive experience. It’s very rewarding.”

Robert G. Chambers, MD, graduate of Duke University medical school, was a prominent head and neck surgeon in Baltimore who greatly influenced the field of head and neck cancer surgery. After serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII, he went on to complete his fellowship training in head and neck surgical oncology at the National Institutes of Health. He later joined another pioneer in the field of head and neck cancer, Dr. Grant Ward, and in 1958, upon Dr. Ward’s passing, Dr. Chambers continued the private practice and was the only head and neck surgeon in Baltimore for more than two decades. In 1965, when GBMC opened, Dr. Chambers performed his surgeries at GBMC as well as Johns Hopkins. 

During his career at GBMC, Dr. Chambers worked closely with the Department of Radiation Oncology where he added a radiation sensitizer for head and neck patients receiving radiation. In 1979, he cared for well-known horse auctioneer Milton J. "Laddie" Dance, Jr. and kept him cancer free for the rest of his life. As a result of this exceptional care and treatment, Milton Dance Jr. and his wife, the former Jeanne Gilchrist “Jinny” Vance, made a generous donation to the hospital to open what is today, the Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head and Neck Center. The opening of the center saw the dedication in the care of patients with head and neck cancer as well as other services including rehabilitation, voice and swallowing rehabilitation and speech-language pathology. Dr. Chambers joined Dr. Alvin Wenger in founding and serving as co-medical director of the Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head and Neck Center at GBMC. Dr. Chambers was a pioneer in the field of head and neck cancer surgery and influenced a generation of head and neck surgeons through training and example.

"I cannot think of anyone in my tenure as Chairman of the Department of Medicine who did more to advance the quality of care and the scope of services GBMC is able to offer our community than Marie Chatham. She more than deserves the honor of being a GBMC titan." – Dr. Neal Friedlander 

Dr. Chatham went to medical school at the University of Maryland and did her pulmonary and critical care training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She returned to the University in 1980 as head of their Medical Intensive Care Unit and later became head of the combined Medical and Surgical ICUs at Franklin Square Hospital. 

Her affiliation with GBMC began in 1989 when she joined the office of Pulmonary and Critical Care Associates at GBMC and, not only saw outpatients in both pulmonary and sleep medicine, but regularly attended in the GBMC ICU. 

She was not only a superb clinicians and teacher, but her ability to help families deal with difficult medical decisions was extraordinary. In 2013, she joined the GBMC Internal Medicine faculty while continuing to practice pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The next year, she became the head of the Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine. 

That same year, there was a shift in ICU staffing. Dr. Chatham, alongside Dr. David Vitberg, served as an anchor to not only stabilize the ICU but continue to improve the quality of care for patients. Dr. Chatham did this while maintaining an outpatient practice, recruiting pulmonary and critical care physicians to join the division and establishing a division of sleep medicine at GBMC.

Constantinos P. Chilimindris, MD, an esteemed trauma surgeon, joined GBMC in 1968 specializing in the care of trauma patients and serving as the hospital’s Chief of the Department of Surgery. Dr. Chilimindris completed an internship in trauma and surgery at Union Memorial Hospital and completed a fellowship in shock trauma at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, one of the country’s first trauma centers. He returned to Baltimore to private practice and to GBMC in 1968. In the early 1970’s, with GBMC’s surgery department growing, Dr. Chilimindris, who also served as GBMC’s Director of the surgical intensive care unit, devoted his time to caring for trauma patients and performing surgery. He was once quoted in an interview as stating, “Trauma work has always excited me because the rewards are so great, particularly when you save young trauma victims.” 

His daughter, Cara Stiars, explains that her father “defined himself by his profession and took great pride in working as a surgeon at GBMC.” She adds, “He came in as a pioneer of trauma surgery, was well respected, and was able to use his expertise to introduce procedures to GBMC that were innovative at that time.” 

By 1976, Dr. Chilimindris had trained some 35 surgical nurse practitioners to help assist the surgeons with the growing load of surgical cases, helping to make the department of surgery more efficient, as well as continue its growth. 

Dr. Chilimindris retired from medicine in 1997 and passed away at the age of 73 in 2008. He was highly regarded by his peers and patients and was described as someone who always went the extra mile. Ms. Stiars adds that she’d often hear from people, “I knew your father - he operated on me; he saved my life!”

Gary Cohen, MD, GBMC’s Medical Director of the Sandra & Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute, enjoys a good challenge. He completed his oncology fellowship training in 1981 when cancer was a terrible disease that nobody wanted to talk about. The field of medical oncology was the greatest challenge in medicine at that time, and Dr. Cohen set out to treat cancer patients with compassion, reduce the stigma of the disease and improve quality of life, if quantity of life was no longer an option. He is also a Founder of Gilchrist Hospice Care. 

Dr. Cohen started working at GBMC in 1990, dedicating himself to compassionate care, building a world-class cancer program, as well as conducting important clinical research to continue the fight against cancer. He says that he’s most proud of the team of physicians and oncology staff that surround him at GBMC. “In my opinion, no group of oncology professionals has been as effective in advancing the care of cancer patients as our colleagues at GBMC,” he says of GBMC’s team of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, oncology nurses, social workers and support staff. Dr. Cohen was also a key driver in establishing the Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network, which brings groundbreaking clinical trials for a variety of medical and surgical maladies to all patients at GBMC. Such studies also include comparative effectiveness and patient centered outcomes research. "Our patients are the most important benefactors of our research endeavors,” he says. 

Dr. Cohen continues his work in medical oncology and research to help make things better for patients. “We need to love what we do as physicians. If I can get up every morning and be excited about another day at the office, then it’s never really work.”

Maimon M. Cohen, PhD, was a national and international pioneer of the human genetics field. He joined GBMC in 1998 as the first Director of the Harvey Institute for Human Genetics. With the Harvey Institute, Dr. Cohen established one of the leading genetics programs in the country and the first cancer genetics program created in a community hospital. Dr. Cohen initially focused on building the cancer genetics service at GBMC but soon developed the Institute into a leading, full service genetics program covering prenatal diagnosis, pediatrics and obstetrics. He approached the Harvey family for their generous donation and thus was instrumental in securing funding to endow the prestigious genetics institute, providing world class genetics services at GBMC in perpetuity. 

While Dr. Cohen was the face of the human genetics at GBMC from 1998 on, his journey as an internationally recognized genetics pioneer began decades earlier. He planned to be an agronomist and earned a master’s degree in 1959 and a doctorate in crop genetics from the University of Maryland in 1962. His plan was to practice crop genetics in Israel, but while doing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, he became interested in human genetics. Over the next several decades doing seminal work on in vitro fertilization, chromosomal breakage syndromes, and the genetic basis of cancer, he laid the groundwork for assisted fertility, cytogenetics and genetic screening and counseling in cancer. 

Dr. Cohen’s dedication to the Harvey Institute’s groundbreaking work, as well as his devotion to the patients that he cared for, was immeasurable. During his terminal illness in 2007, his son, Neri Cohen, MD, PhD, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at GBMC, says that his father moved his office first to his hospital bed, and then to Gilchrist Hospice, working and living life to the fullest right up until the very last day. Dr. Cohen’s legacy is the legions of colleagues, students, patients and families that he touched and left with a lasting impression of what it means to “do good.”

Dr. William A. Crawley actually began his medical career not as a physician, but as a dentist. He received his dental degree from the Baylor College of Dentistry where he became interested in oral and maxillofacial surgery. After completing dental school, Dr. Crawley did a three year residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Johns Hopkins. It was during a rotation in plastic surgery at Hopkins that he realized he wanted to expand his surgical expertise to more than jaw surgery. However, in order to be a plastic surgeon, Dr. Crawley needed to go to medical school, which is what he did. He became the first oral surgeon admitted to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He describes his beginnings in plastic surgery as, “a circuitous route to becoming a doctor.” 

Dr. Crawley joined the medical staff of GBMC in 1985 and was named the Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2009, overseeing 30 plastic surgeons on staff as well as the credentialing of these physicians. In his own practice, Dr. Crawley is focused on facial cosmetic surgery as well as skin cancer reconstruction. He is proud that the department is on the leading-edge of the field, performing all of the most up-to-date procedures covering the full spectrum of plastic and reconstructive surgery, he says. 

What he loves most about his career at GBMC and in medicine is patient care, stating, “ I love being able to get to know my patients and to really help them.” It’s this passion for providing exceptional care that continues to drive him. He shares advice for future generation of doctors, saying, “If medicine is your passion and it’s what you want to do on a daily basis, then there’s nothing more important than to enjoy your work every day. Always put patients first and take care of them as if they were a family member.”

Reginald Davis, MD, believes that being a physician is a true calling, one which he pursued with fervor as he received his training at Johns Hopkins’ neurosurgery program in the early 1980s and went on to be named Chief of Neurosurgery at GBMC in 1989. Since then, he has had many “firsts” and helped many patients live higher quality lives thanks to his dedication to groundbreaking research and advanced medical technology. Dr. Davis, who is also head of Greater Baltimore Neurosurgical Associates, says he has always been passionate about providing patients who suffer from disorders of the spine, brain and nervous system, the very best care in a community hospital environment that fosters teamwork, collegiality and a sense of community. 

Like many other medical services in the 1990s, neurosurgery was advancing at a rapid pace. Dr. Davis has always taken great pride in research and medical device development, bringing the breakthroughs right to his patients through clinical trials. In fact, Dr. Davis and his colleague were the first two neurosurgeons to implant the Mobi-C artificial disk device in the Mid-Atlantic region, and in the 1990s, he was the first surgeon in the United States to use Dynamic Stabilization with the Dynesys spinal system. Dr. Davis and his team were also instrumental in fostering computer-assisted head and spine surgery. “Our role as surgeons has always been to bring the most advanced technology and the least invasive methods of surgery to restore the health of our patients,” he explains. 

In addition to his clinical innovation, Dr. Davis hopes that he has also carved out a legacy as being a compassionate, empathetic and caring doctor. “Seeing people in need, hurting or scared, and being able to help them is a truly powerful experience and has helped shape my view on humanity,” he says.

Karl Diehn, MD is a man with a soft voice and a gentle demeanor. Many times he has been called to our pediatric emergency department to see a patient and he always finds a way. So too, anytime a physician calls Dr. Diehn to see a patient in his office on an emergency basis, he makes room. Dr. Diehn has been a cornerstone of the GBMC Otolaryngology Department for more than 30 years. After graduating from the University of Maryland Medical School in 1975, and finishing his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Diehn became one of the earliest members of Ear, Nose & Throat Associates, and helped to forge the practice’s reputation as the preeminent provider of pediatric otolaryngology care. His partners were George C. Alderman, MD, Samuel M. Lumpkin, MD and J. Dennis Branger, and together this group defined excellence in otolaryngology throughout the region. During his tenure at GBMC Dr. Diehn has also served on the GBMC Medical Board and the Board of Directors. 

A perennial member of Baltimore’s “Top Docs,” Dr. Diehn is admired for his consistent availability, his accountability, and his kindness. His skill, thoughtfulness and calm demeanor have inspired physicians, students, patients and families throughout his professional career. When the GBMC Medical Board was asked for nominations for the Titan award, Dr. Brian Kaplan, the current chair of otolaryngology wrote me back the next day and said, “If anyone ever embodied the values of GBMC, it’s Dr. Diehn.” Dr. Diehn also embodies humility. When I first spoke to him about this award he was hesitant to accept it. He said. “I am not special and I do not deserve an award. I just try to do the best job I can.” His response speaks to the true difficulty and complexity of selecting physicians to receive the Titan award. The greatest physicians are often those who simply do their job – in all its manifestations – to the best of their capacity, and do it marvelously well. Some doctors, though, just stand out. 

Dr. Diehn lives in Towson with his wife Catherine, Together, they raised 4 children, Megan, Karl, Kate and Kevin. Medicine is all-in-the-family for the Diehns. Catherine was a pediatric intensive care nurse when they met. She resigned when their second child was born so that Karl could devote more time to his practice, and she could devote her time to being a Mom. Karl and Catherine’s love of medicine will be carried forward by their two physician daughters, who are physicians. The Diehn’s also have two grandchildren who are the apples of their eye. 

Megan Diehn Wood, MD said she and her siblings had an idyllic childhood, “Just growing up around my parents-- him being a doctor and her a nurse -- was incredible. Our up-bringing definitely 

influenced my sister, Kate, and me going into the medical field.” Megan also spoke of her father’s work ethic, “He made a lot of sacrifices and spent a lot of long hours at work over the years. But we all knew it was for good reason.” Despite Dr. Diehn’s complete dedication to his professional life, Megan had this to add: “He was the best dad -- I'm 37 years old, and we have our own lives, but I still look to him for advice and support.” 

When speaking to Dr. Diehn’s myriad of patients, one often hears, “He took care of my kids too,” and “He's such a wonderful doctor.” Really it seems that almost anyone you ask in the community knows of Doctor Diehn, a quiet and humble hero, and now a GBMC Titan. Megan says, “I have a different last name, now – but when a patient sees my maiden name on one of my certifications hanging in my exam room, they will inevitably exclaim, ‘Are you related to Dr. Diehn?”

Everett S. Diggs, MD, was instrumental in the development and growth of many major programs and services at GBMC since its opening in 1965. After his discharge as an officer of the Army during WWII in 1945, Dr. Diggs returned to the private practice he started before the war. In 1962, he became chairman of the Department of Gynecology at the Hospital for the Women of Maryland and was soon appointed director of the residency program of obstetrics and gynecology at the hospital, positions he continued with when GBMC opened in 1965. During his time at Women’s, he established two divisions in oncology and female urology and an outpatient surgery program, all of which carried over to the new GBMC. At GBMC, Dr. Diggs expanded the outpatient surgery program to also include general surgery and complex gynecological procedures. These surgical programs paved the way for the establishment of GBMC’s Ambulatory Care Center, the Sherwood Surgical Center and the Women's Surgical Center as well as programs in laparoscopy, colposcopy, microsurgery and rape evaluation as well as an infertility program at the hospital. 

Dr. Diggs also played a pivotal role in the administrative side of GBMC and worked tirelessly to develop high standards of care. From 1965 to 1968 he served as assistant chief of staff and from 1968 to 1974 he acted as GBMC’s chief of staff. He also served as a member of GBMC’s board of trustees. 

Colleagues of Dr. Diggs described him as a great GYN surgeon but also as a gentle physician who taught those around him the value of compassion and empathy for patients and their families. He was admired and respected not only by his peers but by his patients for his caring demeanor and dedication to his work even after he retired in 1981. His son, David Diggs, describes him as a quiet man who loved his work. He added, “Dad’s favorite thing to do aside from his work was to go to our beach house. He’d get up at the crack of dawn with fishing rods in hand and surf fish for hours – that’s what he loved to do.”

James H. Dorsey, MD, joined the medical staff of GBMC in 1965 and served as the hospital’s second Chairman of the Department of Gynecology as well as Head of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology for more than two decades until his retirement in 2000. Dr. Dorsey received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1958 and completed his internship and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology from Johns Hopkins Hospital. He served as chief resident in OB/GYN at Johns Hopkins and completed fellowship training as a senior cancer research surgeon from the Roswell Park Memorial Institute in 1964. 

Dr. Dorsey was one of the foremost physicians in the field of gynecology during his era, introducing minimally invasive GYN procedures that were some of the first of their kind in Maryland and the country including laparoscopic hysterectomy and carbon dioxide laser for GYN surgery. In fact, Dr. Dorsey was one of the pioneers in establishing laparoscopic surgery for gynecology and was well known for his work in laparoscopic surgery nationally and internationally. Dr. Dorsey also played a pivotal role in developing and building the in vitro fertilization program at the hospital as well as establishing a renowned gynecologic oncology program, hiring some of the top physicians in this field (including Drs. Alfred Bent and Francis Grumbine). Throughout his career, Dr. Dorsey was on the forefront of the most advanced technology and minimally invasive surgical procedures in gynecology, which elevated GBMC’s department of gynecology to one of the top 50 programs in the nation during his leadership, as ranked by U.S.News & World Report.

As a former lawyer turned physician, Dr. Neal Friedlander brought his incredible skill and intellect to GBMC for more than 20 years. Named Chairman for the Department of Medicine by the Board of Directors in 2006, Dr. Friedlander oversaw many important advancements at GBMC. 

During his tenure, the Department of Medicine saw a complete revamp of the Critical Care and Pulmonary divisions along with the addition of 24/7 intensivist coverage. The Department developed the Center of Neurology as well as a sleep medicine program. He helped arrange for the continued presence of dermatology on campus and introduced the concept of geolocalization of the medical units in the hospital to better serve patients. The Department also expanded the divisions of gastroenterology, infectious disease and the residency program, and the resident faculty became specialized between inpatient and outpatient teaching. Lastly, GBMC's Stroke Program was certified as a Primary Stroke Center in 2006 and has remained certified with additional recognition for its administration of tpa. 

He was also instrumental over the years in philanthropy – both personally and from a volunteer standpoint, connecting the hospital with major donor prospects and helping to engage other physicians in fundraising, especially during GBMC's 50th anniversary celebration. 

Serving on GBMC's Philanthropy Committee as well as the Gilchrist Board of Directors, Dr. Friedlander played a large role in expanding the Hunter Wilson lectureship gift, growing it from one lecture annually to a resident lecture series operated by the Department of Medicine. 

He is a past recipient of the Baltimore City Medical Society Community Service Award, was a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Long before Gilchrist acquired Joseph Richey House in Baltimore City, Dr. Friedlander served as a volunteer doctor for several years at the height of the AIDS crisis. He is truly an exemplary leader and physician.

Leonard M. “Myrt” Gaines, MD, was a member of the GBMC medical staff from the very first day the hospital opened. After serving in the Air Force Medical Corps during WWII, he returned to Johns Hopkins in 1956 to complete his training and fellowship in rheumatology in 1959. Dr. Gaines served as Chair of the GBMC advisory committee of the department of medicine and Chair of the credentials committee that approved new members of the staff. In addition to these roles, Dr. Gaines maintained an active private practice from 1959 to 1994, when he retired, and was often known to make house calls to patients to ensure their optimal care. Dr. Gaines also served as the hospital’s Chief of Staff from 1988 to 1994 and Chairman of the GBMC Foundation. 

Notably, Dr. Gaines was a great champion of quality and compassionate end of life care, and worked tirelessly throughout his career to bring greater awareness of end of life care to the medical community. When Gilchrist Hospice Care opened in the early 1990s, Dr. Gaines became an active Gilchrist board member, a position he held for 13 years, two of those as board Chair. But perhaps an even more important role to him was that of Gilchrist Hospice volunteer, which he had said in a biographical profile allowed him to interact on the most personal and heartfelt level with “patients at home as a friend, not as a doctor.” Upon his retirement from the board in 2011 and until his death in 2013, he was honored by Gilchrist for his deep dedication and compassionate commitment to patients at the end of life with the position of board member emeritus. 

Of his work with hospice, Dr. Gaines was once quoted as saying, “While I have chaired Hospice's Board and had significant involvement in fundraising, my greatest satisfaction has come from my work as a volunteer."

Pedro Garcia, MD, was GBMC’s second Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology and was instrumental in the growth and excellent reputation of the department and private physician group. Dr. Garcia completed his medical degree in Madrid, Spain before coming to the United States in the early 1960s where he completed a rotating internship in emergency medicine and anesthesiology in 1962. He later completed his residency in anesthesiology and training in major nerve blocks and fiber optics at Johns Hopkins where he also served as chief resident. In addition, he completed a fellowship in pulmonary physiology at Hopkins. In 1970, Dr. Garcia joined the medical staff of GBMC as an anesthesiologist and also served as an assistant professor of anesthesia and critical medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Named GBMC’s Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology in 1986, Dr. Garcia recruited the top anesthesiologists of the time to GBMC. He says that he hired “only those physicians I felt were qualified to take over my job as Chairman,” and he was proud of the team of 22 board-certified anesthesiologists and five pediatric anesthesiologists that provided 24/7 coverage in the hospital. The anesthesia team was also assisted by 12 of the top Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). 

Under Dr. Garcia’s direction, the department introduced major nerve blocks for surgery as well as controlled pain medication with epidural for thoracic and vascular surgery cases. He established a large pain service at the hospital including a team in obstetrics that performed epidurals on demand 24/7 for expecting mothers. 

Dr. Garcia was dedicated to teaching future anesthesiologists and served as a role model to young physicians entering the field. He played a leading role in the introduction of a lecture series in anesthesiology for staff and residents at GBMC, and presented OB lectures to expecting mothers. Also under his leadership, the anesthesiology department was known far and wide for its high level of patient safety and excellence.

Recruited to GBMC in 1982 by Dr. James Dorsey, Francis Grumbine, MD, was what he called a “one man show.” When he first started working in gynecologic oncology, he not only performed surgery but also administered chemotherapy to his patients. But, as he assumed the role of Head of GBMC’s Gynecologic Oncology department in 1983, he began integrating patient care with the medical oncology and radiation therapy teams, developing the multidisciplinary approach to GYN oncology that still provides patients with leading-edge care today. 

Over his 30-plus year career as the head of the GYN oncology service, Dr. Grumbine has witnessed quite an evolution in the diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic cancers. He was part of the era that introduced and embraced new laparoscopic techniques in the operating room, including laparoscopic hysterectomy and staging procedures in endometrial cancer patients. “We were the first in this region to perform laparoscopic staging to reduce hospital stays and morbidity,” he explains. Over the past decade, Dr. Grumbine was also instrumental in bringing robotic surgery to the field, and GBMC was the first community hospital to perform a radical hysterectomy utilizing the robotic surgery system. 

Exceptional care and training future GYN oncologists has also been an important part of Dr. Grumbine’s work at GBMC. Helping to develop one of the area’s most competitive GYN oncology fellowship programs with Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as committing to cooperative studies that enroll many of his patients in important clinical trials are just a couple of the accomplishments Dr. Grumbine is proud of. 

Along the way, Dr. Grumbine says he’s been fortunate to have worked with a great team of professionals. “I truly enjoy the environment and the people who work at GBMC,” he says. “Everyone is dedicated to taking the very best care of patients.”

Charles Haile, MD, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, joined GBMC in 1980. He received his medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, completed his residency at Mercy Hospital and a fellowship in infectious disease and Army time at Walter Reed Medical Center. He says that microbiology had always fascinated him so going into the field of infectious diseases was a natural choice for him. 

Dr. Haile began his work at GBMC in the 1980s when HIV/AIDS was changing the landscape of infectious disease and the approach to this field of medicine. It was during this time that the division turned its focus from infection control to infection prevention. Over the past two decades, the scope of his work has been in preventing disease which has included improvement in antibiotic stewardship to reduce antibiotic resistant organisms. Along with the hospital’s top notch infection prevention professionals, Dr. Haile has been involved in numerous prevention initiatives over the past decades ranging from increasing awareness and practice of appropriate precautions and isolation policies to the donning of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. Dr. Haile has also been heavily involved in teaching residents and says, “I’ve always enjoyed being involved with teaching. I learn from the residents, and they learn from me.” He also served as GBMC’s Chief of Staff for 10 years, from 1994 to 2004. 

In addition to his work in infection control and prevention at GBMC, Dr. Haile was instrumental in building GBMC’s chapel and the addition of its first chaplain. He states, “The hospital is a sacred place, a place of healing. Whatever a person’s tradition or religion, it’s important to have a quiet, spiritual place to go.” Dr. Haile is very proud to be a part of the GBMC team and says that he is not only proud of his work, but of the hospital. “The quality of our physicians has always been top notch and we have a wonderful nursing staff. GBMC has been a great place to work.”

Richard E. Hoover, MD, served as GBMC’s first Chairman of Ophthalmology from the very beginning, and was perhaps best known for his extensive work with the blind and for being the father of the “long cane technique.” He began his work with the blind in 1936 as a teacher of math and physical education at the Maryland School for the Blind. He became interested in helping the blind become more independent and conceived the idea of mobility using a long cane in the early 1940s when he entered the Army where he helped rehabilitate soldiers blinded in war. It was during this time that the Hoover cane became recognized not only as a mobility tool, but also as a symbol of independence for visually impaired individuals. 

After the war, Dr. Hoover received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1950 and completed his residency in ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute in 1954. He went on to open his private practice in addition to establishing the Department of Ophthalmology at the old Presbyterian Eye, Ear and Throat Charity Hospital, where he also began the residency program in 1959. His work as Chairman later transferred to the new GBMC in 1965 where he continued his work in ophthalmology and low vision services until his retirement in 1985. Dr. Hoover became a national and international pioneer of low vision services and established the Richard E. Hoover Rehabilitation Services for Low Vision and Blindness to help people with low vision and blindness resume active, satisfying and more independent lives.  

Dr. Hoover dedicated his life and work to the development of services for children and adults with low vision and was also influential in the development of genetic counseling for families in conjunction with the National Eye Institute.

Darrell A. Jaques, MD, was one of the pioneers of head and neck cancer surgery who helped introduce and build the head and neck cancer surgery practice at GBMC. After completing his general surgery residency, Dr. Jaques went on to serve as a Chief Surgeon in an evacuation hospital and then as Commander of a MASH unit during the Vietnam war. After the war, he completed his head and neck surgery fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital. He remained at Walter Reed serving as Chief of Head and Neck Surgery, Assistant Chief of General Surgery, and Consultant to the Surgeon General until his retirement as Colonel in late 1977. It was then that he joined the renowned private head and neck surgical practice of Dr. Robert G. Chambers, working with head and neck cancer patients at GBMC. Following Dr. Chambers’ death in 1981, Dr. Jaques continued the practice, adding Drs. John Saunders and Richard Hirata. This head and neck surgical oncology practice would be the beginning of what is now the Milton J. Dance, Jr., Head and Neck Center at GBMC. 

Dr. Jaques was considered ahead of his time when it came to head and neck cancer surgery. In the early 1970s, the use of preoperative radiation therapy for advanced head and neck cancer patients came to the forefront. Dr. Jaques was quoted in a 2009 GBMC interview as saying, “Adding this modality had benefits but it also made surgical management of radiation-injured tissues difficult, and increased the risk of carotid artery rupture.” In response, Dr. Jaques invented a surgical technique that used the trapezius muscle to construct a flap for coverage of the exposed carotid artery. 

Dr. Jaques spent half of his lifetime specializing in head and neck cancer surgery, a commitment that led to treating cancer patients’ physical and psychosocial needs and molding future leaders in head and neck surgical oncology until his retirement in 1995.

Victor Khouzami, MD, GBMC’s current Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, was recruited to the hospital in 1981 to head up GBMC’s division of maternal fetal medicine. Dr. Khouzami was named Chairman of the department in 1984 and Medical Director of Women’s and Infant Services in the late 1990s, and has been instrumental in the growth and notoriety of the hospital’s maternity services. In the early 1980s, GBMC was performing approximately 1,800 deliveries annually and high risk pregnancies were transferred to John Hopkins for care. Yet by the end of that decade, GBMC was named the county’s first hospital designated as a perinatal center, taking in more high risk cases because of growing capabilities and specialization. By the early 1990s, GBMC’s department of obstetrics had grown exponentially and moved toward the future with the construction of GBMC’s new, larger, and modern labor and delivery suite. 

Under Dr. Khouzami’s leadership, GBMC’s obstetrics department was seeing about 5,500 deliveries at the peak of its volume and is still recognized throughout the state as one of the best maternity hospitals. In fact, GBMC was ranked sixth in the nation as best maternity hospital in a national ranking in the late 1990s. Today, women from all over the region come to GBMC for its full service OB department including specialties such as genetics, sonography and maternal-fetal medicine. 

Dr. Khouzami credits the department’s success to the incredible maternal-fetal medicine and obstetrics staff. “We’ve enjoyed a high level of staff stability, which speaks to the high level of professionalism and collegial relationships within our department,” he says. “Obstetrics is probably the most humbling of specialties,” he adds. “As OBs, we’re greatly affected by the happiness of our patients, as well as the sadness if something goes wrong in a pregnancy. But, it’s the human interaction, sharing in the experiences of my patients and the relationships developed that are the most rewarding aspects of my work.”

Malonnie Kinnison, MD, joined the medical staff of GBMC in 1987 and became the Director of Interventional Radiology in 1994, a post she held until her retirement in 2008. The collaboration and relationships her team formed with other physicians and specialties at GBMC was an aspect of working at the hospital that Dr. Kinnison loved about her work. “Our work applied to almost everyone and every department in the hospital, and the relationships we had with so many clinical specialties truly benefitted our work and our patients’ well-being.” She notes that the department’s involvement with the oncology patients was perhaps one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of their work at the hospital. 

She describes interventional radiology as a specialty that allowed her to adapt treatment to an individual patient’s needs, providing that personalized, patient-centered care that she and her team valued for patients. In the 1990s, interventional radiology was evolving rapidly with new technology. Dr. Kinnison credits the hospital for its support of the program and in maintaining state-of-the-art equipment as well as encouraging the growth of the team to include the best and most skilled physicians, technicians and nurses. “We introduced a number of different procedures,” she says. “Technology was rapidly evolving and we were able to stay ahead of the curve not only with advanced technology, but also because the hospital supported the continued training of our medical team.” 

Throughout her tenure, Dr. Kinnison says that it was the people she loved most about working at GBMC. And, despite the changes in medicine, she feels good in knowing that her colleagues at GBMC had the same philosophy - to always put patients first. 

Dr. Kinnison will be returning to medicine in 2015, working in the palliative care division at Johns Hopkins and looking at the relationship between palliative care and interventional radiology.

As an young orderly in a Minneapolis Hospital, Claudius Klimt, MD, watched as an intern spoke to a family that had just lost a loved one. “It was a moment of realization that being a physician was not beyond reach. I was sure I could do a better job of speaking to the newly bereaved family,” says Dr. Klimt. After completing his medical training, Dr. Klimt fulfilled his vision and became a highly regarded emergency medicine physician who placed great value on respect, teamwork and caring for patients like they were his own loved one. 

Throughout his career in emergency medicine at GBMC, which spanned from 1977 to 2011, Dr. Klimt’s goal was to create an emergency medicine team that delivered the kind of medical care one would want for a close family member.  Dr. Klimt was named Chief of Emergency Services in 1977, which was then part of the Department of Community Medicine, and later became the hospital’s Chairman of Emergency Medicine. He dedicated himself to developing a standard of care for all emergency patients and building one of the region’s top emergency medicine teams. “The emphasis for me was on team. We needed everyone to do their part to be successful in providing medical service we were proud of,” he says.  

Dr. Klimt is grateful to have been part of such a dedicated team of emergency medicine professionals and for the unwavering support of his wife, Mary. “Without her support I am 100% sure I would not have been able to accomplish much of anything,” he says. Dr. Klimt retired from GBMC in 2011 and has since enjoyed his other passion - aviation. 

“Medicine is a wonderful opportunity for a fulfilling life,” he advises future physicians. “Serve the people who trust you with their most intimate health fears. The rewards are truly remarkable.”

Mark Lamos, MD, has been practicing internal medicine for more than 30 years and joined GBMC in 1989. As the current President of GBMC’s primary care company GBMA, he has been part of several teams that have ushered in the era of the patient centered medical home model of care. He is also the medical director of Greater Baltimore Health Alliance (GBHA), GBMC Healthcare’s accountable care organization. Dr. Lamos has participated in initiatives that have not only brought primary care practices together under a single umbrella, but is proud to have worked with many talented people dedicated to improving quality of care, bringing forth GBMC’s ability to “stand proud in the marketplace and do the right things for our patients. 

The philosophy of doing the right thing by people has followed Dr. Lamos throughout his career in medicine. He was inspired to enter the field of medicine at a young age by his uncle who was not only his family’s physician but a beloved and respected physician for an entire community. “My uncle had an incredible impact on so many people. I knew I wanted to be just like him.” When Dr. Lamos thinks of others who have helped shape who he is as a physician and a person, he credits his wife, Chris, and also a priest, Father Paulinus Forsthoefel S.J. “He taught me the importance of always doing the right thing and to enjoy all of humanity.” 

For Dr. Lamos, being a physician at GBMC has been a great joy as he has always taken pride in caring for his patients. “Caring for people - that’s why we all went into medicine,” he says. “That’s the part that makes us doctors special.”

After training and operating at Johns Hopkins and practicing at Union Memorial Hospital, in 1973, Dr. Paul Leand was attracted to GBMC because of the high quality of well-trained physicians who practiced there. It was very reassuring to know that when a specialty consultant was needed, the very best physicians in all fields were readily available. This outstanding environment offered excellent medical input and support. Inpatient care on the surgical units and ICU was also superb. To augment the supervision and communication from patient to nurse to attending surgeon, Chief of Surgery, Dr. Geary Stonesifer Jr., created an intensive comprehensive medical-surgical educational course by which a specialty faculty of staff physicians taught two bright U.S. Army veteran super surgical nurses, Barbara Tassone and Rosanna DeBardi, to be the first Surgical Nurse Associates (now called nurse practitioners) certified in the State of Maryland. This course was conducted five days weekly over a four-month period. The results were so successful in keeping track of all ongoing patient conditions and events that the program was expanded and the course repeated to ultimately provide eight additional Surgical Nurse Associates to cover all surgical units. Although some surgeons assisted their associates in the operating rooms, Dr. Stonesifer also convinced the hospital to employ five outstanding board-certified surgeons to work full-time as surgical assistants in the Operating Room. A surgical coverage schedule was also constructed to provide attending surgeons to cover cases in the Emergency Room. A major attraction at GBMC was the superb Department of Anesthesia instituted by Dr. Alfred Nelson and later enhanced by Dr. Pedro Garcia. Knowing that patients would receive the very best anesthetic and ICU care for all major surgical procedures encouraged one to practice at GBMC. All of these assets combined to provide a high-level medical environment for the patients' benefit at GBMC.

Dr. Marshall Levine has provided excellent, compassionate cancer care for more than 40 years to the Baltimore community. Through these years, Dr. Levine's contributions to the GBMC cancer program were critical to the quality, success and expansion of this central GBMC service line. His contributions touched every aspect of the cancer program, from being an exemplary physician and colleague to development of clinical programs, teaching, research and fundraising. 

Dr. Levine's leadership was pivotal to the great success and regional reputation of the GBMC head and neck tumor program. He provided the subspecialized medical oncology expertise that was a key ingredient for these complex issues. He orchestrated the care of these patients with multidisciplinary teams, a concept he spearheaded. Physicians now meet for weekly tumor boards in five subspecialities. Last year, more than 1,200 individual GBMC cancer cases were discussed and Dr. Levine was instrumental in moving this concept into reality. These conferences provide ongoing benefit for patients and the reputation of GBMC, including our ability to attain national certifications through the Commission on Cancer. 

He also introduced new treatments for head and neck and esophageal cancers, which emphasized organ preservation. He was the principle investigator on many IRB-approved research protocols at GBMC, many of which resulted in publications that changed the standard of care. 

A long-standing member of the Head and Neck Tumor Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and a member of the National Cancer Institute's Steering Committee for head and neck malignancies, Dr. Levine is a national expert in head and neck tumors. 

Dr. Levine embodies all the excellent qualities of a GBMC titan.

Samuel Lumpkin, MD, otolaryngologist, joined the staff of GBMC in 1966 and founded the practice of ENT Associates with partner Dr. George Alderman in 1967. Dr. Lumpkin followed in the footsteps of his father, who was also an ENT physician. After spending two years in the Army, Dr. Lumpkin graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School and went on to complete his residency in otolaryngology at Hopkins under Dr. John Bordley. 

Over his almost 40 years in practice, Dr. Lumpkin was one of the busiest otolaryngology surgeons at GBMC and performed tens of thousands procedures over his career. He says that he most enjoyed the people he worked with during his career at the hospital, in addition to caring for all of his patients. 

Dr. Lumpkin and his wife Sandra Bishop, who was one of the first speech-language pathologists employed at GBMC’s Milton J. Dance Jr., Head and Neck Rehabilitation Center, had a special interest in voice and laryngology and were instrumental in the founding of the Dance Center, along with Dr. Alvin Wenger. Dr. Lumpkin and Sandra introduced videostroboscopy of the larynx to GBMC which helped thousands of people with voice problems. 

In addition to caring for patients, Dr. Lumpkin served on numerous hospital committees as well participated in fundraising activities. He retired in late the 1990s. In  the early 2000s, Dr. Lumpkin and his wife became active volunteers with National Capital Therapy Dogs and brought their own trained dogs to GBMC’s ACE Unit and to Gilchrist Hospice to brighten the days of elderly and terminally ill patients.

As a young boy in London during World War II and the Blitz, Dr. McGibbon saw airmen who had been shot down and who suffered bad burns and scarring of the face, some with missing noses and ears. This experience left a lasting impression on him. He knew from an early age that plastic and reconstructive surgery would be his life’s work. Educated in England, he was drafted into the Royal Army Medical Corps following his post-graduate studies. He worked as an OB/GYN for several years, caring for British families and wives of soldiers from Nepal. Dr. McGibbon immigrated to the United States in 1966 to pursue his medical training in plastic surgery. 

In the 1970s, he was appointed as Assistant Professor in Plastic Surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he worked with children with facial deformities such as cleft lip and palate. In the late 1970s, he opened his private practice where he focused on breast reconstruction for women following mastectomies. He was appointed Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at GBMC in 1978, a role he held for more than 20 years. He was the first plastic surgeon in the area to use the groundbreaking TRAM Flap, a technique that allowed a patient to use her own tissue for reconstruction following a mastectomy. During the 1980s, he also pioneered autologous blood transfusions, allowing patients to receive their own blood, if needed, during surgery. This became the standard of care during the AIDS epidemic. In 1988, he founded the GBMC Golf Classic, a tournament which has raised over three million dollars for patient care at GBMC. 

His retirement in 2001 has given him time to pursue another passion – art. Painting and sculpturing have allowed him to continue to use his creative talents. He said, “I used to create with tissue, but now I create with clay.” He is well-respected in the Baltimore art community.

John M. McGovern, MD, played many roles at GBMC, from OB/GYN to Chairman of Obstetrics and Chief of Staff. A veteran of WW II, he attended medical school on the GI Bill at the National University of Ireland Medical School. He later completed his residency training at the Hospital for the Women of Maryland and established a private OB/GYN practice in Baltimore in 1959. Starting at GBMC in 1965 when the hospital opened, Dr. McGovern was a beloved OB/GYN who delivered countless babies and cared for many women. His son, Jack McGovern, recalls that his father “loved babies and helping his patients bring new life into the world.” Dr. McGovern served as GBMC’s Chief of Obstetrics from 1974 to 1983 and was also Chief of Staff from 1980 to 1983. Unfortunately, his tenure as Chief of Staff was overshadowed by his untimely death from cancer in 1984. However, Dr. McGovern was a man with a vision and his term as Chief of Staff was marked by major advances in cardiology with the creation of a dedicated Coronary Care Unit and Cardiac Rehabilitation program. 

Another of Dr. McGovern’s legacies arose from his tragic battle with cancer - the creation of the John M. McGovern, MD, Memorial Oncology Support Program at GBMC, which still provides for the emotional needs of cancer patients and families. Dr. McGovern’s wife, Margaret, ran the volunteer program for many years after her husband’s death. 

Dr. McGovern was known for his untiring dedication to the health of his patients as well as to GBMC and his roles as both Chief of Obstetrics and Chief of Staff. “He was compassionate, committed, incorruptible and very kind. His devotion to GBMC was complete and total,” says Jack McGovern who adds that his father considered GBMC – his colleagues, the staff, and his patients – as family.

James H. Mersey, MD, an esteemed endocrinologist, managed one of the area’s largest endocrine practices as well as served as GBMC’s Chief of Endocrinology for more than three decades. Passionate about excellence in diabetes care and education, he was also the founder and former medical director of the Geckle Diabetes and Nutrition Center at GBMC from 1996 to 2013. Throughout his tenure at GBMC, Dr. Mersey was also active as an educator for the GBMC medical residency staff and fellows. 

Dr. Mersey received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, completed his internship and medical residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Peter Brent Brigham Hospital, a division of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mersey then spent 11years on the full-time faculty at the University of Maryland in Baltimore and subsequently developed Bay West Endocrinology Associates, the largest endocrinology practice in Maryland, while also serving as GBMC’s Chief of Endocrinology. Throughout his career, Dr. Mersey has been actively involved in clinical research in the areas of diabetes management, thyroid disease, hypertension, lipid disorders, osteoporosis and other endocrine disorders. 

In 2013, Dr. Mersey began "semi-retirement" in The Villages, Florida where he created an endocrinology service for The Villages Health and continues to see patients.

Dr. John Minkowski served as the Director of Cornea Service in the GBMC Department of Ophthalmology. During his tenure, he trained many residents in cataract and cornea surgery, and taught many GBMC ophthalmologists the nuances of cornea and external eye disease, which helped them better care for patients. He was also a member of the Department of Ophthalmology Advisory Committee for several terms and served as its chair. 

After graduating from the University of Maryland Medical School, Dr. Minkowski was a resident in ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins and completed fellowship training in cornea and external disease at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School. He returned to Baltimore and was on staff at Johns Hopkins as well as Chief of Ophthalmology at the Baltimore VA Hospital. 

Dr. Minkowski is an innovator. During his tenure at Wilmer in the 1980s, he worked with David Guyton, MD to develop the potential acuity meter (PAM), a device which revolutionized the preoperative evaluation of cataract surgery patients. It is still used in many practices today, worldwide, to help determine if a patient with a cataract has good visual potential. The PAM guides the surgeon in counseling the patient as to the possibility of visual recovery if they proceed with cataract surgery. 

Dr. Minkowski left academic practice in the late 1980s and opened a private practice on GBMC's campus. However, he continued to teach and train residents. He was known to be dogmatic in his approach to ophthalmic surgery, "before his time" in creating standard work and quality outcomes as well as in his dedication to patient safety. Former residents still talk about "mink-isms" – little things they were taught in surgery or clinic that they still remember and use in their practices. 

Because his practice of medicine embodies the values and ethics we all want for the care of patients, Dr. Minkowski is a Titan of Care.

From the opening of GBMC in 1965 to his retirement in 2010, Howard Moses, MD, served as the hospital’s first neurologist and eventually Chief of that division, bringing passion and dedication for exceptional patient care to generations of patients. Following his medical education as well as his service in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service, Dr. Moses started his residency in neurology at John Hopkins in 1958. He later met Dr. Thaddeus Prout, who was to be the new Head of Medicine at a soon-to-be opened hospital - GBMC. “By October 1965 when the hospital opened its doors, I was ready to bring the highest level of academic neurology to the community,” Dr. Moses recalls. 

When he first began practicing, most neurological disorders were incurable. Over his four-plus decades at GBMC, Dr. Moses played a leading role in neurological innovations and practices to provide exceptional patient care. In addition to his passion for caring for patients, Dr. Moses was also a devoted teacher of fellow neurologists and medical students. Even in retirement, Dr. Moses still teaches medical students, helping prepare future generations to become superb clinicians. In today’s era of technology in healthcare, Dr. Moses emphasizes to his students the importance of taking time to sit and really listen to patients and their concerns. 

“I am so proud to have been part of the wonderful group of master clinicians that started GBMC. These doctors set the bar very high for excellence in medicine,” adds Dr. Moses, who says that 1965, and the decades that followed, was a great time to be in medicine. “When GBMC opened in 1965, the atmosphere was incredible. It was a team of wonderful people all working together for the benefit of patients. There was a great sense of collegiality, and it was my privilege to have been part of the group of doctors who helped shape GBMC into the excellent community hospital of today.”

H. Alexander Munitz, MD, Chairman of GBMC’s Department of Radiology, joined GBMC in 1986, helping to bring the hospital’s radiology department into the 21st century. Under his leadership, GBMC was one of the first community hospitals to utilize spiral CT as well as perform radiologic studies not typically found in community hospitals including virtual colonoscopy and high quality CT coronary arteriography. “The ability to image volumes and reconstruct images in every plane has been a huge leap forward in radiology. The advent of MRI and PET imaging has enabled us to evaluate function as well as structure,” says Dr. Munitz, who also helped recruit some of the top interventional radiologists in the country to develop one of the region’s leading interventional radiology departments. 

Dr. Munitz also takes great pride in the creation of the Comprehensive Breast Care Center, which he calls a first-of-its-kind cooperation between surgery and radiology. “The integrated services of GBMC’s breast care center and breast imaging center result in immediate breast imaging for our surgical patients as well as access to superior surgeons on the radiology side.” He adds that the Center was the first of its kind in a community hospital in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Under his leadership, the Center also became a leader in percutaneous breast biopsy, performing more biopsies than most centers in the U.S. He also participated in the development of biopsy needle technology. 

In addition to working with patients and teaching residents, it’s working alongside the team of high quality radiologists and the interaction with all specialties throughout the hospital that Dr. Munitz enjoys about his work at GBMC. “GBMC is a warm and collegial place. The administration and hospital Boards have supported our department from the beginning, allowing us to grow and maintain one of the finest community hospital radiology departments.”

Alfred T. Nelson, MD, was one of the founding physicians of GBMC, serving as the Chief of the Department of Anesthesia as well as the hospital’s fifth chief of staff. Following his service in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps as Chief Medical Officer of the USS Greene from 1942 to 1946, Dr. Nelson established his medical practice in anesthesia at the University of Maryland where he received his medical degree. In the early 1950s, Dr. Nelson began practicing at The Hospital for Women of Maryland in Baltimore City and helped usher in the new era of GBMC in 1965. Dr. Nelson served as Chief of the Department of Anesthesiology and played a leading role in the development of the service at GBMC. He was described as a “consummate leader,” and throughout his career he was dedicated to staying abreast of the evolving technology and advances in the field of anesthesiology. 

Dr. Nelson retired in 1988 and was honored with the establishment of the Alfred T. Nelson, MD, Professorship Lecture Series.

Robert Palermo, MD, started his career at GBMC as an associate pathologist in 1982 following his residency training, working with the department’s first Chairman, Dr. John Adams. When Dr. Adams retired in 1990, Dr. Palermo was named Chairman and Laboratory Director of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. While pathologists are not involved in direct patient care, Dr. Palermo and the team of pathologists practice as consultant physicians, developing and applying knowledge of tissue and laboratory test analysis to assist in and facilitate the treatment of individual patients from every specialty and service across GBMC. “In laboratory medicine, we delve into the reasons for disease and provide information to the clinician to arrive at a diagnosis and treatment strategy. This field touches every part of medicine, which is something that I have always enjoyed,” he says. 

Focused on the growth of the department, Dr. Palermo has kept GBMC on the forefront of constantly evolving technology in the area of clinical laboratory diagnostics. He has also played a major role in the development of laboratory information systems over the last 25 years at GBMC, which has allowed the Department to provide timely and accurate diagnostic information. 

Dr. Palermo has served on a number of hospital committees, acting as Chairman of the Infections Committee for 22 years, serving on the Information Systems Steering Committee, staying involved in laboratory and hospital-wide quality issues and being active particularly in the early stages of the development of CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) at the hospital. Dr. Palermo says he is thankful for the many opportunities he’s had at GBMC to grow creatively and to give back to the organization. He adds, “Being exposed to so many clinical experiences and wonderful professionals at GBMC has provided opportunities to become involved in the organization and understand how to provide the best possible lab services.”

When Dr. Ambadas Pathak came to GBMC in 1988 as the Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), he set out to expand and grow the vital service that cared for the hospital’s tiniest patients. Dr. Pathak was drawn to GBMC because of the intense focus on patient care and enjoyed working across disciplines to deliver exceptional care to newborns and families. With GBMC being one of the busiest OB hospitals in the region and deliveries continuing to increase, Dr. Pathak spearheaded the expansion of GBMC’s NICU, which went from one small unit to a thriving department comprised of a team of top-notch neonatologists, nurse practitioners and pediatricians to help support his overall mission of growing neonatal services at the hospital. “I was very fortunate to have had the support of the department and the administration.” 

During his tenure, GBMC’s NICU was the second unit in the Baltimore metro area to participate in a national data gathering project in the 1990s that helped Dr. Pathak demonstrate the department’s exceptional care in neonatal medicine to the Joint Commission, backed up by the data he helped gather. He also fulfilled his other passion of teaching thanks to an OB residency program that allowed him to train OB residents in neonatal medicine. 

But perhaps the shining achievement of his career was caring for several sets of multiples. “My first challenge in my first month at GBMC was caring for a set of quadruplets,” he recalls. That same year, Dr. Pathak says the NICU had 10 sets of quadruplets and multiple triplets! “Our team also cared for a set of quintuplets, and all five of the babies survived. I was invited to their first birthday party, which was an amazing celebration. I couldn’t have been happier to attend their birthdays.”

Ronald Peterson, MD, OB/GYN, was one of the first physicians to begin working at GBMC when it opened its doors in 1965. After completing his OB/GYN residency at The Hospital for Women of Maryland in Baltimore City, Dr. Peterson joined the OB/GYN practice of Drs. John Savage and William Englehart and says that going from a small downtown city hospital to a larger community hospital in the mid-60s was a great opportunity for him. Dr. Peterson practiced obstetrics until 1988 but continued the practice of gynecology until his retirement in 2001. Even after his retirement, he continued to volunteer with GYN patients at the hospital for eight more years. Dr. Peterson participated in the OB/GYN residency program developed by physicians from the hospitals of the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins. 

Perhaps one of the shining accomplishments of Dr. Peterson’s work at GBMC was the leading role he played in introducing the laparoscopic surgery program to GBMC in 1970, a time when laparoscopy was still in its infancy. In the early 1970s, he says it was unique that a community hospital was offering such an innovative technology and a surgical technique that was only just starting at some of the larger institutions. Today, almost every surgical service utilizes the laparoscope. “GBMC and the Chairmen of each department were very progressive in acquiring new technology that greatly benefitted patient care,” he adds, thankful for the hospital Boards’ generous support through the years. 

In addition to his successful practice and helping the departments of obstetrics and gynecology grow throughout the decades, Dr. Peterson says one of the things he enjoyed most about his work at GBMC was watching the professional care of the nursing staff. “One of the many highlights of practicing at GBMC was the wonderful relationship patients developed with the nurses who cared for the women and families.”

The early 1980s was an exciting time to be in the field of cardiology with emerging advances such as angioplasty and defibrillators making significant differences in patient outcomes. In training during this time, James Porterfield, MD, knew that cardiology was the right path for him. 

After leaving academic medicine to launch his private practice in 1991, GBMC was at the top of his list because of its reputation for stellar patient care and an outstanding physician staff. Over the years, Dr. Porterfield and his colleagues introduced a number of techniques and technological advances to GBMC, from electrophysiology and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), to defibrillators and pacemakers in the Cardiac Catheterization lab. Since the 1990s, GBMC’s Division of Cardiology has become a leading community hospital program that provides a full range of non-invasive testing. He is also proud of the collaborative relationship with GBMC’s Division of Neurology. He explains that now, when a patient presents with stroke symptoms, the cardiology and neurology consultants collaborate as part of a comprehensive work-up which often includes TEE and screening for arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation. “This collaborative effort across specialty lines is now the standard of care as part of stroke evaluation, resulting in improved patient outcomes and contributing to GBMC’s recognition as a center of excellence for stroke care.” 

Dr. Porterfield has always been a proponent of treating the whole patient and is passionate about improving the health of those in his care, not just through disease treatment but also through prevention. As a consultative cardiologist, he spends a great deal of time talking to and teaching his patients about healthy lifestyles for good cardiac health. He says that medicine is a wonderful profession, and believes that future generations of doctors can become great physicians by not only treating a patient’s disease, but by also getting to know patients as individuals and showing true care and compassion.

Thaddeus E. Prout, MD, board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology, served as GBMC’s first Chief of Medicine starting in 1964, a year before the hospital’s official opening. He held this role for the next 25 years and was dedicated to building GBMC’s department of medicine as well as the residency program from the ground up. He worked diligently to recruit the best physicians from around the country and the world to GBMC, growing the department of medicine and its practices into a leading force throughout the region. His commitment and passion for teaching was evident in the residency program that he helped grow and he remained dedicated to bringing university-level medical standards to a then small community hospital. He was described by colleagues as a great leader and teacher as well as an impressive clinician. 

Following his service in the Navy during WWII, Dr. Prout finished his medical degree at Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1948 and went on to complete his internship and assistant residency at Boston City Hospital. With the Korean War starting, Dr. Prout, a lieutenant, was recalled to active duty and deployed as the only physician aboard a troopship in the Pacific. In 1954, Dr. Prout came to Baltimore to complete a fellowship in endocrinology, and by the late 1950s, he was director of postgraduate training at the Diabetes Endocrine Clinic at Hopkins Hospital before starting his work at GBMC. 

Dr. Prout was also passionate about drug safety. He served as chairman of the endocrinology and metabolism committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the 1970s as well as principal investigator for six major national clinical trials investigating drug safety and efficacy. He was instrumental in getting the FDA to take the dangerous drug Phenformin off the market. According to Dr. Prout’s daughter, Deborah M. Prout, his work shaped the FDA’s policy on obesity drugs and his testimony before Congress was important in ending the use of amphetamines in popular diet pills. She says, “Medicine and his patients were his first loves.”

When Ibrahim Razzak, MD, was pursuing his training in medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology, GI as a discipline was in its infancy and new advances in the field were just emerging. In 1976, Dr. Razzak was challenged with building the hospital’s first department of gastroenterology from the ground up. From working with architects to design the new GI facility to the development of policies and procedures and the recruitment of nurses and physicians, Dr. Razzak helped create one of the region’s leading GI programs. He introduced new and advanced technology and procedures, as well as developed the GI curriculum to teach house staff and attending physicians. And always did he maintain his focus on bedside medicine and the value of forging relationships with patients. 

Quality was paramount to Dr. Razzak, and he supported continuing education for his staff to ensure optimal care for patients. For many years, GBMC’s Gastroenterology division was one of the only hospital-based services that thrived during a time when many hospitals were losing patients to free-standing endoscopy centers. During Dr. Razzak’s tenure, the GI division was twice chosen as one of the top 50 GI services in country by USNews & World Report in 2000 and 2005. His dedication and expertise was also recognized in the community and he was voted by his peers to the office of governor of the American College of Gastroenterology for Maryland for two terms, and President of the Maryland Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He remained Head of the Gastroenterology Division until his retirement in 2010. 

Dr. Razzak notes that what attracted him to GBMC was the original group of physicians who were true gentlemen and great physicians who truly cared and demonstrated compassion for all patients. “These physicians as well as other department chiefs were great role models who helped and guided me as I worked to build the GI service at GBMC.”

W. Anthony Riley, MD, has served as the Medical Director of Gilchrist Hospice Care since its inception in 1994 in addition to serving as Medical Director for Gilchrist Greater Living, a group of physicians who serve frail and elderly patients across the continuum, from GBMC to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to palliative care to hospice. He joined the medical staff of GBMC in 1983 and also serves as the Medical Director of Senior Services. 

During his primary care fellowship, part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s support of primary care in the 1970s, he worked with elderly patients in a senior living facility in Baltimore where he first realized his affinity for working with geriatrics. “The wisdom of these elderly patients inspired me to enter the geriatrics, palliative medicine and hospice fields,” says Dr. Riley, who learned early in his career the healing power of the doctor-patient relationship. 

Since the 1980s, Dr. Riley has used this understanding to help create programs and services at GBMC and Gilchrist Hospice Care that have grown the geriatrics, palliative medicine and hospice programs into one of the region’s most esteemed services. Adding some of the top clinicians in the field has also helped the division attend to the unique physical and emotional needs of seniors. Today, GBMC has many services that cater to seniors, from the Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) Unit to palliative care and end-of-life services. Dr. Riley has also focused on bedside clinical care for the elderly as well as on building great systems that are designed to respond to the unique physical and emotional needs of seniors and individuals at the end of life. “With the elderly and those at the end of life, it’s not always about treating disease, but about following the patient’s lead, establishing relationships, and understanding their needs and goals for care.” 

 

John D. Rosin, MD, became a member of the medical staff of GBMC when the hospital opened in 1965 and was a highly regarded colorectal surgeon for decades. After receiving his medical degree, Dr. Rosin served his country, joining the Army Medical Corps in the European front from 1943 to 1945. Upon his return to the U.S., Dr. Rosin went on to complete his general surgery residency and later completed his proctology fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic in 1952. He then returned to Baltimore as the only trained and certified colon and rectal surgeon in Maryland at that time. In 1953, Dr. Rosin joined the Hospital for Women of Maryland in Baltimore City until the founding of GBMC in 1965. He was the founder and director of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Residency Program at GBMC and worked tirelessly to advance the colorectal surgical program throughout his career at the hospital. 

In January 1990, Dr. Rosin passed away and a memorial lecture is presented in his memory in May of each year at GBMC. The lecture is attended by the many surgeons who had the privilege to train at the GBMC Colon and Rectal Surgery residency, as well as many other physicians from the Greater Baltimore area.

After completing his surgical residency at Duke University Medical Center, Laurence Ross, MD, joined the medical staff of GBMC and the prestigious surgical group of Finney Trimble and Associates in 1987 as a general and vascular surgeon. Since then, he has been keenly focused on delivering the highest level of patient care. He says that caring for patients and helping people get better has always been the most satisfying part of his job as a surgeon. He adds, “In medicine, there is no compromise to great patient care.” 

Over his career, Dr. Ross has seen the emergence of important technology and surgical techniques such as laparoscopy that have greatly benefitted patient care in surgery. Dr. Ross performs a vast array of general and vascular surgical procedures, including hernia repairs, laparoscopic gallbladders, colon surgery, breast surgery, carotid endarterectomies, aortic aneurysm repair, peripheral vascular surgery, dialysis access surgery and varicose vein surgery. He has also been recognized by his peers as one of the "Top Doctors" in Baltimore magazine several times.

Frank Rotolo, MD, started working at GBMC in the Finney Trimble and Associates practice in 1989 after completing his surgical residency at Duke University Medical Center. For the past 25 years, Dr. Rotolo has made many contributions to the area of general surgery, currently serving as the Division Head of General Surgery at GBMC. Dr. Rotolo and his team have been a part of many significant advances in the field over the past 20 plus years, from the introduction of laparoscopic and robotic surgery in a number of surgical disciplines at GBMC to the advent of sentinel lymph node biopsies for breast cancer and melanoma detection and diagnosis. 

Dr. Rotolo is proud to have been able to bring GBMC to the forefront in surgical and cancer quality. He has played an important role in GBMC being one of the first hospitals in the state to become a member of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Dr. Rotolo was also instrumental in quality programs with GBMC’s cancer program, serving as the cancer liaison physician for the Commission on Cancer as well as the Maryland State Chair for the Cancer Liaison Physicians for many years. 

For Dr. Rotolo, working at GBMC has meant having a true sense of what community medicine is all about. “In community medicine, you get to know people as patients, as friends and as individuals,” he says. “You have a real sense of community working with colleagues you have known and respected for years. You watch people grow up and they, in turn, watch you grow up as a surgeon.” To Dr. Rotolo, his career has truly been all about his patients, a moral that has stuck with him since he was a young surgical resident. “There are a lot of patients you remember, the successes as well as the failures,” he says. “But in the end, there’s nothing more important than taking care of people.”

John R. Saunders, Jr., MD, first came to GBMC in 1979 as a fellow in head and neck surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to work to with Drs. Robert Chambers and Darrell Jaques. In 1982, he joined Dr. Jaques and Dr. Richard Hirata, who was his mentor at Walter Reed, in practice. 

After 10 years in private practice, Dr. Saunders became the medical director of The Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head & Neck Center along with the head and neck practice, which later became the Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Surgery at GBMC. Thanks to GBMC and the Dance Endowment, Dr. Saunders, along with an interdisciplinary team, helped build the renowned Dance Center’s prominence in head and neck cancer surgery and rehabilitation, in addition to adding vital services such as the Johns Hopkins Voice Center, a combined community-academic venture, along with a rich variety of speech-language pathology services. 

Over his surgical career, Dr. Saunders experienced the progression from radical surgery to a number of treatment combinations using concurrent chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, as well as more targeted therapies and immunotherapy to treat head and neck cancer. Retiring as an active surgeon in 2012, Dr. Saunders has spent the past decade in administrative roles, serving as GBMC's chief of staff from 2004 to 2010 and as interim chief executive officer in 2010. Currently, he serves as the chief medical officer where he is focused on designing systems that help insure high quality, reliability and safety in patient care. 

Perhaps one of the highlights of his career has been in the training of young surgeons. He notes “As surgeons, we get tremendous satisfaction in training future physicians. I was fortunate to be a member of a long line of teachers and was enriched by my interaction with residents and students.”

When someone says the name Dr. John E. Savage, your eyes peer forward. You expect Dr. Savage to be ahead of you, because there was no one more forward-thinking or ahead of the curve than Dr. Savage. 

Before becoming one of the founders of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Dr. Savage was leading the charge in obstetrics at the Hospital for the Women of Maryland of Baltimore City where he was chief of staff beginning in 1958 and chief of obstetrics beginning in 1949, when annual malpractice premiums were $100. He published extensively and became nationally recognized for his management of deliveries using forceps with saddle block anesthesia, which attracted many physicians to the Women's Hospital Residency program to train under the "Great White Father of Forceps." 

According to Dr. Ronald Peterson who trained under Dr. Savage, worked with him for many years and is also a Physician Titan of Care, saddleblock anesthesia received a lot of criticism. Ninety-two percent of deliveries were using regionalized local anesthesia where the incidence of headaches and other effects was higher. Dr. Savage used saddleblock anesthesia because it was better for the patients. 

According to an article by the American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society, "at this time, contraception, sterilization and elective termination were illegal. The on-call system often required physicians to deliver babies in inner-city homes. These deliveries provided unique challenges and often required great ingenuity. Dr. Savage related an incident in which he was delivering a patient at home and found himself being supervised by a cow with her head peering through an open window. These experiences were to have a lasting impact on his career." 

Being the Chief of Staff at the Hospital for the Women of Maryland of Baltimore City in 1965, Dr. Savage was instrumental in merging with Presbyterian Eye, Ear and Throat Charity Hospital to form GBMC. He worked closely with Mrs. Jeanne Baetjer on this effort as she was the head of Board of Trustees for the Women's Hospital, and it was their interest to bring together a multi-specialty hospital, not a general hospital. The melding of the specialties was an important distinction that earned them much consternation at the time from skeptics, but in the end was the right choice. And according to Mrs. Batejer, it was because "we had our very own secret weapon," Dr. John Savage. 

In September 1969, at a dedication event to name the John E. Savage Medical Library because of Dr. Savage's love for the history of medicine and keeping an active library for healthcare professionals, Mrs. Baetjer, said, "Without the gentle, but firm and patient leadership of Dr. John E. Savage, we could not have achieved this goal or the success which this hospital now enjoys. There were times of short tempers and moments of discouragement for most of us, but never was Dr. Savage abrupt not did he waver from his conviction that this hospital would become a reality." 

Dr. Savage possessed unique skills in resolving contentious issues among hospital administrators, boards and the medical community. Dr. Peterson said he was the epitome of patience, even-tempered and tolerant – all qualities that made him a successful and natural leader in the melding of the two hospitals. 

According to Dr. Peterson, complicated, difficult things Dr. Savage was an expert in. He was an inspiring teacher, but also a master clinician. His proactive stance on issues related to women's health led to the liberalization of state and hospital regulations related to contraception, sterilization and termination of pregnancy. But his knowledge also made him a great mentor and a great leader both in his field and with his fellow physicians.

Lauren A. Schnaper, MD, joined GBMC in 1996 and serves as the Director of the GBMC Sandra and Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Care Center. Dr. Schnaper received her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency and serves as Associate Professor of Surgery. Dr. Schnaper is nationally recognized for her work specializing in benign and malignant diseases of the breast. In addition to direct patient care, she is active in national clinical research and has chaired the Breast Surgery Subcommittee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, a nationwide NCI-sponsored cooperative clinical trials group. Her clinical research focuses on breast cancer in the elderly and her basic sciences research focuses on circulating proteins in breast cancer. 

Dr. Schnaper has been instrumental in the growth of GBMC’s Breast Care Center and in the care of women with breast cancer. Under her leadership, the center has instituted many new programs and services as well as introduced innovative technology to aid in the precise diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer. Dr. Schnaper has been honored by many community groups and was designated as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women in 2010. She was also named as one of "Baltimore's Best Breast Surgeons" by Baltimore magazine and as one of the “Best Doctors” in America by American Health magazine.

Dr. Howard Siegel retired from active practice in pathology in 2018. During his tenure at GBMC, he served with distinction as a member of the department and medical staff. He is esteemed by his colleagues for his compassionate patient care and expertise, exemplified by his selection as one of Baltimore magazine's top doctors in the specialty of pathology 10 times. 

In addition to his clinical responsibilities and laboratory medical director roles in the fertility laboratory division in the early 90s and the immunology division, Dr. Siegel served in numerous administrative leadership roles within the hospital, lending his knowledge and expertise as a member of the GBMC Medical Board from 1990 through 2009, a member of the GBMC Board of Directors from 2005 to 2010 and a member of the Legislative Committee since 1990. 

Dr. Siegel also distinguished himself as a leader at the state level, serving in succession as the secretary-treasurer, president-elect and president of the Maryland Society of Pathologists from 1990 through 1995. He also served on the Board of Governors for the Baltimore County Medical Association and as a member – in various capacities – of the House of Delegates of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland from 1992 to 1995 as well as a member of the state advisory committee and as state issue advisor for the College of American Pathologists from 1994 to 2000. 

His commitment to GBMC and his field is admirable and serves as a great example to fellow physicians.

While Dr. Melissa Sparrow has achieved much at GBMC, one enduring, powerful and striking characteristic that underlies all her accomplishments is passion. 

Dr. Sparrow followed a unique path to GBMC – graduating from Princeton University before spending time in Paris as a fashion model. She returned after 18 months to pursue a career in education at Gilman before following a passion for medicine to Johns Hopkins. 

She came to GBMC in 2003 after completing a pediatric residency at Hopkins as a pediatric hospitalist, where her passion for children and pediatrics was immediately apparent as she fought for better care for children throughout the hospital. 

In 2007, she was picked to lead the transition to a dedicated Pediatric Emergency Department and Inpatient Unit, a novel model of care in a rapidly changing inpatient pediatric world. She partnered seamlessly with nursing as this was a unique and rarely-attempted approach to pediatric care in a community hospital that required a tight nurse manager/physician leader relationship. Her passion in her leadership, advocacy and clinical work was instrumental in creating a successful model of care that has since been copied nationally because of its success. 

Ten years later, Dr. Sparrow, as Vice Chief of Staff, instituted a fair, just and nuanced systematic approach to addressing problematic physician behavior with the Office of Medical Staff Affairs. In 2016, she became the unanimous choice to become the first woman at GBMC to serve as Chief of Staff. In this position, she continued to excel, bringing a commitment to inclusion, unwavering support of the medical staff and toughness in challenging long-standing male traditions, all with great humility and grace. 

In her youth at GBMC, she sometimes brought fire and brimstone to her work. Over time, she lost the brimstone and corralled the fire in advocating for patients and families, maturing into a truly effective leader, without losing her passion.

Melchijah Spragins, MD, pediatrician, was a major influence in the field of pediatrics and a leader in the development of its practice at GBMC from the hospital’s inception. Dr. Spragins displayed charm and wit as well as humility and a comforting demeanor, which endeared him to his patients and parents. Combined with what colleagues described as brilliant diagnostic skills, he was a model caregiver. 

Dr. Spragins received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1944. In addition to his private practice, which he established in 1948, Dr. Spragins was involved on the planning committee that worked with architects to develop the pediatric unit at GBMC. He served as the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics from 1966 until 1986 and also as the hospital’s Chief of Staff from 1974 to 1980. Soon after the hospital opened, he spearheaded the establishment of neonatal care at the hospital, with dedicated facilities and supported the growing approach of human touching and handling of the struggling infants by parents and nurses as vital to their survival and development. He developed specialized staffing for pediatricians serving as full time physicians in the nursery, which was unique at the time and served as a model for other nurseries in the community. 

Dr. Spragins believed in the medical and psychological value of house calls, which sometimes numbered 30 or more per week early in his career. It was not uncommon for him to spend the night with a seriously ill child. He brought this attitude to his work at GBMC. According to his son, Bill, “he found the physiological development of children intriguing, as when a child was managed correctly, you could see startling good results in a short period of time compared to adults. He also enjoyed the humorous antics of children.” 

Dr. Spragins could not have kept pace without the support of his wife Betsey, who handled the after-hours calls of worried parents, offering advice until he became available. Additionally, she amassed more than 10,000 volunteer hours at GBMC in various departments around the hospital.

Geary L. Stonesifer, MD, served as GBMC’s first Chief of Surgery and established the department of surgery following the hospital’s opening in 1965. Dr. Stonesifer was known as an excellent surgeon as well as a doctor with a good bedside manner and remained GBMC’s Chief of the Department of Surgery from 1966 until his retirement in 1988. Dr. Stonesifer earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1958 and went on to complete his surgical residency with the legendary Dr. Alfred Blalock. In addition to his work at GBMC, Dr. Stonesifer was also part the private surgical practice of Finney Trimble Surgical Associates. 

Many of his colleagues called him a gifted and brilliant surgeon who was not only dedicated to the very best care of his patients, but also to building the very best department of surgery. Under his leadership, the department not only grew and evolved with the times as well as with technological and surgical advances, but those who worked with him flourished under his guidance and teaching. Physicians from near and far respected his surgical expertise and his wife, Mrs. Ann Carter Stonesifer says, “Doctors from around the state and the country would often send him difficult medical cases because they knew their patients would be well taken care of. He was successful at taking care of these patients and enjoyed the challenge of these difficult cases.” Mrs. Stonesifer adds, “Geary was a very compassionate person who loved being able to help people.” 

Jeanne Baetjer, a founder of GBMC who served as president of its first board of directors, was quoted as saying, "Without Dr. Stonesifer's compassion, expertise and leadership, the GBMC surgical service today would not have the excellent reputation that it enjoys." 

“People would always stop me and tell me what a wonderful surgeon and great person Geary was,” adds Mrs. Stonesifer. “No matter where I went, people knew his name. Geary was very respected and well known in his field and loved by his patients.”

Alan Tapper, MD, a founder of GBMC's OB/GYN department, has been a physician of remarkable vision and foresight. In the 1970s, he sensed the changing demands of obstetrics in the region and began advocating for family-centered obstetrical care long before that approach was acceptable or popular. In 1978, against very strong objections, Dr. Tapper established the first birthing room at GBMC, and subsequently the first maternity facility in the state of Maryland to have a birthing room. 

Words used to describe him by colleagues frequently include advocate, quality, patient-centered and great sense of humor. Sensing patients wanted family members in the room and advocating for that integration might be the one change for which Dr. Tapper is most known, but according to his partner of 22 and a half years, Dr. Emma Zargarian, Dr Tapper was also well known for consistently promoting progressive changes that improved patient care and elevating GBMC’s position as the community’s preeminent institution for women's healthcare. 

Under Department Chair Dr. Victor Khouzami, Dr. Tapper served as a member and chair of the Advisory Committee. Dr. Khouzami remembers him as an excellent advisor and way ahead of his time in terms of the quality of medicine he fought to ensure patients received. 

Dr. Zargarian felt that Dr. Tapper was also ahead of his time in the way he treated women physicians entering the profession as complete equals. She states that Dr. Tapper loved the profession thought of his patients as people first, patients second. From simply asking questions to get to know them better, to attending funerals for patients and their families, he invested in their lives. 

Dr. Zagarian says she can't count the number of family events he bypassed to take care of his patients and families who needed him emergently, and that he would do anything to make their experience a positive one. 

Dr. Tapper's work ethic and focus on patient and family-centered care was a clear representation of GBMC's vision long before it was established.

Harold Tucker, MD, GBMC’s Chief of the Medical Staff and gastroenterologist, learned early in his training that having a strong team of specialists with which to work collaboratively gets the best results for patients. Upon starting his work at GBMC in 1983, it was this collaborative approach to care that provided Dr. Tucker with the tools he needed to provide the most comprehensive care to his patients. 

Working alongside his partner, Ibrahim Razzak, MD, Dr. Tucker is proud of the high quality GI program they developed, noting that for a number of years, GBMC’s GI program was ranked in the top 50 among hospitals around the country. His practice has been instrumental in bringing new technology and techniques, particularly in endoscopy, to patients at GBMC. “We were first in several different areas of GI at introducing and adapting new technology, new procedures and specialized medications for our patients,” he says. Dr. Tucker appreciates that GBMC has remained on the cutting-edge in many ways, allowing him to bring new advances to his field and elevate patient care. 

In addition to his busy clinical practice, Dr. Tucker has been highly involved in the administrative and strategic side of GBMC, currently serving as the Chief of the Medical Staff, and also on the hospital’s credentialing committee. Passionate about delivering the highest quality of care to patients, Dr. Tucker says, “I became involved in the administrative side of GBMC to help insure the patient experience and clinical outcomes were high and quality of care issues were at the forefront.” 

Dr. Tucker says that GBMC has allowed him to practice medicine that emphasizes excellent patient care and quality. “Medicine is a wonderful profession. I’m very proud to have been a doctor. It’s all about taking care of patients and making sure they get the best, personalized care.”

Ronald F. Tutrone, Jr., MD, has been the Chief of the Division of Urology at GBMC for more than 10 years, beginning his career at the hospital in 1993 following his residency training at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Throughout his career at GBMC, he has introduced many groundbreaking surgical techniques as well as clinical research in the field of urology. In the 1990s, he brought to GBMC a laparoscopic surgical approach to removing kidneys and adrenal glands affected by cancer. During this time, he also introduced a procedure never performed at GBMC called continent urinary diversion (neobladder) for the replacement of the bladder after removal for cancer. Dr. Tutrone has also been known for his work with urologic cancer and was responsible for acquiring the new daVinci robotic surgical system in the early 2000s. 

A larger part of his work over the past decade has been in clinical research for a variety of urologic conditions at GBMC and through his practice at Chesapeake Urology Associates. Dr. Tutrone was the first physician to establish an endowed chair at GBMC specifically for urologic and cancer research thanks to a generous gift from a grateful patient with advanced bladder cancer who he had treated for more than 12 years. “This endowed chair allowed me to take my research to higher level,” says Dr. Tutrone who has been a Principal Investigator in over 200 clinical trials and has gained national notoriety for his urologic research endeavors. 

Dr. Tutrone has also been active on the GBMC Board of Directors, serving as a member for seven years in addition to serving two years on the GBMC Foundation board. He remains passionate about training younger physicians as well as caring for patients as if they were family and says, “The superb medical staff and the close-knit community feel has been some of the many aspects of my work at GBMC that I’ve enjoyed.”

Dr. Fred Weinstein joined GBMC in the early 1980s as the first Director of the Invitro Fertilization Program. In that position, he helped create a Fertility and IVF Center for GBMC, cutting-edge for the day as there were only a handful of programs in the country. The Center at GBMC was one of the first in the country to have a live birth from IVF. Over the course of his career, Dr. Weinstein has helped couples conceive more than 1,000 babies using various infertility treatments and surgeries. 

Dr. Weinstein has supported GBMC by serving on the Institutional Review Board, the Compassionate Care Planning Committee, the Compassionate Care Award Committee and the MOLST Form Committee. His work on ethics in medicine has been outstanding and forward-thinking. He chaired the Ethics Committee for five years, writing the revised charter and serving as GBMC's representative with the State Committee for quality of care at the end of life. He also taught ethics to nursing new hires for several years and was a charter member of the Advisory Board for the Maryland Health Care Ethics Committee Network, which is a law and healthcare program of the University of Maryland’s Carey School of Law. 

Leaders throughout the institution have looked to Dr. Weinstein as a hardworking and honest leader. While serving on internal committees before retirement, he was always known as a gentle titan with a strong work ethic, always putting GBMC first and foremost. 

Even though he has retired from medical practice, he has attended almost every function the hospital has hosted. Everyone looked up to Dr. Weinstein as a role model and all-time great.

When a pregnant mother learns her pregnancy is "high risk" because of her own medical conditions or because her developing baby is at high risk for potential complications, she wants to find the most qualified obstetrician to manage her now complex pregnancy. In Baltimore, Dr. Claire Weitz has been the most selected and desired choice for decades. The OB specialist referred by other obstetricians and satisfied parents, she has been the perennial choice of "Top Doc" among high-risk obstetricians in Baltimore magazine. 

Dr. Weitz trained in Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she completed her internship and residency. There, she met Dr. Victor Khouzami, who would become Chairman of OB at GBMC, and entice Dr. Weitz to join him and create the area's best high-risk pregnancy service in a community hospital setting. Coming to GBMC matched Dr. Weitz's personal philosophy of providing care to her patients. Despite, or perhaps because of, her strong academic training and skills, Dr. Weitz always believed a pregnant woman was best served by staying in her own community, close to her family; and that excellent OB care, particularly as applied to high-risk pregnancies, should be brought out of university, academic centers, and be made accessible in the community hospital setting. Drs. Khouzami, Weitz and GBMC then developed the perfect setting for delivering highly qualified, highly skilled care equal to the care provided in any academic center. 

Dr. Weitz established protocols for the management of such high risk pregnancies, particularly in caring for pregnant women with diabetes and those carrying multiple babies. Developing such a successful program meant collaborating with neonatologists to care for these preemie, low birth weight, or potentially ill neonates in a high-level NICU. Further, caring for her patients required a strong genetics program. Drs. Weitz and Khouzami introduced to GBMC amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS), techniques now common place, but allow a skilled obstetrician to sample the genetic DNA of the developing baby, with minimal risk to the pregnancy. As her reputation in caring for such complex cases grew, and the program she and Dr. Khouzami developed at GBMC became the leader in the community, other connected programs, like the NICU, genetics, pediatric anesthesia grew in stature as well. Under Drs. Weitz and Khouzami's leadership, the reputation of GBMC as a full-service provider of all obstetrical needs was even further enhanced. 

Through her knowledge and confidence in handling difficult situations, Dr. Weitz has been a role model for other obstetricians. Dr. Lilian Hunter who joined GBMC's OB department when she finished her residency in 2003, continues to be impressed with Dr. Weitz's way of caring for her patients. "Everything I know about practicing medicine I learned from her - talking to patients, becoming a better surgeon, practicing OB - it's like doing a fellowship watching her practice." 

Dr. Hunter adds: " She is unique in the way she practices. Her personality makes her stand out. She is just very direct and straight forward and knowledgeable about her field of medicine. When someone refers to me as a mini- Claire, it is a huge compliment." 

"She is a gem. GBMC is lucky to have her." 

She is truly a GBMC Titan.

Robert Welch, MD, started his career at GBMC even before the hospital opened its doors in 1965, working as an ophthalmology consultant at the former Presbyterian Eye, Ear and Throat Charity Hospital beginning in 1959. Dr. Welch received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 1953 and went on to complete his residency training at the Wilmer Eye Institute where he later co-directed the Wilmer Retina Service from 1959 to 1985. 

Since the late 1950s Dr. Welch established himself as one of the leading experts in retinal care and research, locally as well as internationally. Throughout his career at GBMC, Dr. Welch focused on the diagnosis and surgical care of retinal diseases as well as pioneering research in the field of retinal medicine. He went on to become Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology from 1985 to 1991, succeeding the department’s first Chairman, Richard Hoover, MD. Working closely with his mentor and friend, Dr. Hoover, since the start of GBMC, Dr. Welch was instrumental in the growth of the hospital’s ophthalmology and retinal services, bringing new technological advances as well as sophisticated surgical techniques to patients. In fact, he was the developer of improved "scleral buckle" surgical techniques. 

Perhaps best known as a great teacher by the many residents who came through GBMC’s residency program, Dr. Welch says that one of the aspects of his work that he enjoyed most was teaching, as well as bringing several prestigious ophthalmology lecture series to GBMC. Throughout his career at GBMC, Dr. Welch says he also enjoyed working across departments to provide the best care for his patients and enjoyed the collaborative environment of the hospital. 

To this day, Dr. Welch remains passionate about patient care and still practices one day a week in his Annapolis office. He says, “I’ll practice for as long as I possibly can. Medicine is something that I love and have always had a passion for.”

Alvin P. Wenger, MD, was one of the founders of GBMC and was an ear, nose and throat specialist as well as an esteemed head and neck surgeon. After serving the Army during WWII, he completed his residency training and practiced medicine in Elizabethtown, PA for several years. He then completed a residency in otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1949 and went into private practice in Baltimore. In 1962, he was named chief of staff of the Presbyterian Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Charity Hospital, and he played a leading role in merging it with the Hospital for the Women of Maryland in Baltimore City to form and open GBMC in 1965. Dr. Wenger was appointed the GBMC's chief of otolaryngology, a position he held until his retirement. Over the course of his career at GBMC, Dr. Wenger was developed a single-residency training program that combined Johns Hopkins Hospital and GBMC residency programs in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery. 

Dr. Wenger also founded the Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head and Neck Center at GBMC with noted head and neck surgeon, Dr. Robert Chambers, after the generous donation of cancer patient Milton Jenkins Dance Jr. and his wife was made to establish a head and neck cancer treatment center at GBMC. Dr. Wenger served as the center's co-medical director until 1994. 

Dr. Wenger's colleagues described him as an outstanding surgeon with a great interest in teaching surgical techniques, as well as having a patient and caring manner with which he treated all of his patients.

As the first full-time Chairman of GBMC’s Department of Ophthalmology and an internationally known specialist in the treatment of vitreoretinal diseases, Charles P. (“Pat”) Wilkinson, MD, has played an important role in modernizing GBMC’s ophthalmology department. After medical school and residency at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Wilkinson completed a vitreoretinal fellowship at the University of Miami where he worked alongside “genuine innovators in ophthalmology” and was witness to the invention of vitrectomy, a groundbreaking surgical technique that has become a standard of care for previously untreatable retinal disorders. Dr. Wilkinson served on The American Board of Ophthalmology for eight years and chaired the Board in 2004. In 2007, he assumed the role of President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons. 

Dr. Wilkinson and his team have focused on the growth of GBMC’s ophthalmology program and treating patients with the latest evidence-based advances in the field. In the past decade, pharmaceutical agents to treat vascular disorders such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy changed the way eye diseases were treated. And, the improvements in intraocular lenses, cataract surgical techniques, and corneal transplantation procedures all dramatically improved patient outcomes. 

Teaching has always been an important part of Dr. Wilkinson’s work, and he was part of a team that formed the former ophthalmology residency program between GBMC and Wilmer Eye Institute. Currently, the University of Maryland Department of Ophthalmology residents are being integrated into the GBMC program in a similar fashion, he says. “I’ve always been enthusiastic about teaching residents and helping them become the best they can in this field.” 

Dr. Wilkinson says he has learned valuable lessons about caring for people throughout his career, not just with the best therapies but “by listening to patients, answering all of their questions, always being honest and doing your best by your patients at all times.”