MEMBERS
Dr. Lipson and Dr. Bill Devries in the operating room.
With mentor, Dr. Merel Harmel.
Dr. Lipson with his wife, Cynthia.
Working with child patients.
tumultuous time. Married on a Friday afternoon in Louisville, they
traveled to Durham, N.C., to find an apartment the very next day. It
all worked out in the end though, as Duke proved to be intellectually
stimulating and ripe with avenues for success.
“Those nights I spent administering anesthesia at UofL made me
one of the few interns who had experience in emergency medicine.
I was able to take senior call and started leading a team early in my
career thanks to my time at UofL,” Dr. Lipson said, explaining that
faculty at Duke were also dedicated to the ideal of teaching young
residents how to be not just physicians, but kind and well-mannered
citizens. “They told us they weren’t just training physicians, but
gentlemen and women as well.”
Enjoying the atmosphere at Duke, Dr. Lipson stayed on as faculty
after his residency concluded. However, much as with his situation
in Louisville years prior, turmoil in the department soon prompted
a move. When a faculty member invited Dr. Lipson to Mobile, Ala.,
to start a new anesthesia department, he took the chance.
“I became the Director of Education at the University of South
Alabama Department of Anesthesia. My role was teaching medical
students and residents the fundamentals of administering anesthesia
in the OR. It was a great opportunity, but the environment wasn’t
what I hoped it would be,” Dr. Lipson said remorsefully.
At the same time, exciting advances were taking place in Lou-
isville that would lure the Lipsons back after just five years away.
“There was a new artificial heart project here in town. Humana
was going to pay for seven heart implants. While I had experience
with a broad range of cardiac anesthesia, few had experience with a
device taking the place of the human heart. It was uncharted territory
for me and very exciting. Not to mention, Cynthia’s mom and dad
still lived here. We made the move and have been here ever since.”
Over the next few years, Dr. Lipson would work in private prac-
tice and then with Audubon Hospital to stay close to the artificial
heart project. He loved the work and the staff, staying for almost a
decade until he was ready for an end to night and weekend shifts. In
1999, Dr. Lipson’s expertise led him to the Dupont Surgery Center.
“The doctors there wanted me to take care of children who came
through. Because of my scruffy beard, the kids started calling me
Dr. Fuzzy. We’d go out to shop and hear children say, ‘Look, there’s
Dr. Fuzzy.’ The ENT group on the floor above us was busy, so I took
care of a lot of kids,” he said.
Dupont was Dr. Lipson’s world from 1999 to 2007, and he made
many friends and memories while he was there. Still, he wasn’t one
to say no to new opportunities. When a plastic surgeon asked Dr.
Lipson to help set up an operating room, the answer was yes. After
a few years in that practice, it was back on the road for a brief stint
as a Locum Tenens.
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