established community hospital, like St Anthony. This included
attending to all patients in need within busy emergency rooms,
scrubbing for cases in the departments of surgery and/or obstetrics,
attending to patients in pediatrics and general medicine, attending
to the needs of patients in intensive care units and critical care units,
and attending hospital meetings for the quality management of St
Anthony. The newly constructed concrete clinic building at 801
Barret Ave. housed the new DFP Clinic. It was just across the street
from St. Anthony Hospital, and the two buildings were connected
by a second story tunnel to enable transport of patients.
In 1981, Dr. Wright resigned as Chairman of the DFP, but he
continued as an active and productive faculty member. New geriatric
programs were developed during this transition. He focused on
developing innovative pre-doctoral curricula at the UofL School of
Medicine for students and new programs in geriatrics for residents,
faculty and patients within university clinics, Dosker Manor and
surrounding nursing homes. Dr. Kenneth Holtzapple was selected
as the new Chairman of the UofL School of Medicine DFP and facilitated
the move of the DFP to the newly constructed Ambulatory
Care Building (ACB) in 1983.
Dr. Wright became the Director of Pre-Doctoral Education at
the UofL School of Medicine from 1981-1986. He co-founded and
directed the UofL Geriatric Evaluation and Treatment Unit from
1981-1991 and he founded and directed the Urban Center of Aging
from 1985-1989. Dr. Wright was appointed as Director of the Division
of Geriatrics within the renamed and re-organized Department
of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) from 1991-1993. Dr.
Wright attained the rank of Professor in the UofL DFCM in 1992
and was awarded the title Professor Emeritus in 1995.
During his time at UofL, Dr. Wright was very involved academically,
both at local and national organizations. He participated in
many grant activities that totaled more than $2 million dollars to
UofL during his time as faculty member! Locally, he was Chair and
Innovator for LIFE SPAN Planning Council from 1987-1990. LIFE
SPAN is a Teaching Gerontologic Community that was developed
cooperatively between UofL and Christian Church Homes of Kentucky.
Dr. Wright also facilitated the development of the Margaret
Donnard Smock Charitable Trust for Geriatric Medicine at UofL
from 1984-1990.
Dr. Wright was interested in medical conditions that affected
elderly patients, and he sought grants and collaborators to facilitate
research and publications. He was Principal Investigator in
the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Project (SHEP 1 ). Later, in
1997, he was Principal Investigator for a project about Osler’s sign
in assessing hypertension and pseudo-hypertension, as funded
by the Kentucky affiliate of the American Heart Association. He
continued to contribute to clinically oriented grand rounds at the
UofL Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine and to Core
Content for the American Academy of Family Physicians, among
many other research activities.
IN REMEMBRANCE
Dr. Wright earned numerous honors and awards for his
academic and professional contributions, including a Kentucky
Geriatrics Society Achievement Award for Outstanding
Contributions to Geriatrics in Kentucky in 2004, the Kentucky
Citizen Doctor of the Year presented by the Kentucky Academy
of Family Physicians in 1998, and an Award for Exemplary &
Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Gerontology and
Practice of Geriatrics by the Kentucky Association for Gerontology
in 1993. Dr. Wright was presented the Gold Standard
for Optimal Aging Award by the UofL Trager Institute and
a Lifetime Achievement Award by ElderServe at their 30th
Annual Champion for the Aging Award Luncheon in 1991.
Dr. Wright knew the value of professional networks - locally,
nationally and even internationally. He began a new series of
international aid and missionary programs in Ghana, starting
in 1991 and continuing well past 2009. These were missions
to Accra and Tamale, Ghana, supported by local Sister Cities
activities.
Dr. Wright was preceded in death by his father, John Embry
Wright, his mother, Frances Horton Wright, his wife of 33 years,
Jane Atwood Wright, and grandson, Mark Isaac Storm. Dr. Wright
is survived by his four children: Kim Wright Murphy (Jay), Tamilyn
Wright Storm (Rob), Jerilyn Wright Chandler (Peter) and John C
Wright, III (Dana); his beloved sister and first dance partner, Jerilyn
Horton Wright; and 11 grandchildren.
He is survived by Dr. Kay T. Roberts, NP, his life partner of 28
years and colleague of 34 years. Drs. Wright and Roberts worked
collegially in many health care settings, including the UofL Geriatric
program, the Ghana connection and the community health
mission in the Louisville Smoketown community. They shared the
excitement of travel, nature, horses, dogs as children, writing and
family. They also shared a love of nature at “Spiritwood,” their home
in the woods in Simpsonville, Kentucky, that adjoined “Stream,” a
rock bottom creek that crosses their land.
A memorial service to celebrate the life of John C. Wright, II,
MD will be announced at a later date.
References
1 SHEP Cooperative Research Group. Prevention of Stroke by Antihypertensive
Drug Treatment in Older Persons with Isolated Systolic Hypertension: Final
Results of the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP). JAMA
265:3255-3264, 1991
-Robert William Prasaad Steiner, MD, MPH, PhD
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