Joseph Hospital

Dr. John Bernard Wells Jr., an anesthesiologist who loved classical music, sailing and explaining everything from human anatomy to how to build sailboats by drawing diagrams on napkins and pillowcases, died of prostate cancer Thursday at his son's home in Millersville. He was 92. Dr. Wells was born in Baltimore, the son of the late J. Bernard Wells, a former state's attorney for Baltimore. He grew up in a musical family where everyone played an instrument or sang. Dr. Wells learned to play the flute, and as a physician stationed in Marseille, France, during World War II, he had the opportunity to take some lessons with celebrated French flutist Jean-Pierre-Louis Rampal.

WHEN THE board of directors of Greater Baltimore Medical Center last week failed to agree to a partnership with nearby St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Joseph settled the issue by walking away from further discussions. That move is in the best interests of both institutions.As a Roman Catholic hospital, St. Joseph has forged a distinct identity reflecting the values and beliefs that have shaped its heritage. That includes adherence to Catholic principles and practices.Patients have come to expect good medical care at St. Joseph, but no one would expect that institution to provide abortion services or seek it out for sterilization or fertility treatments.

The Rev. George Francis O'Dea, a former chaplain of St. Joseph Hospital who received a medal from Pope John Paul II in 1990 for his contributions to the Roman Catholic Church, died Thursday of respiratory failure at St. Joseph Manor in Baltimore. He was 85.As superior general of the Josephite Order, Father O'Dea purchased the property where the St. Joseph Manor retirement home was built. The Rev. Robert M. Kearns, the order's current superior general, said one of Father O'Dea's joys was spending his final days in the comfort and beauty of the home.

Shandwick Baltimore, the city office of the international public relations firm, won best of show and seven other awards in the annual Best in Maryland Awards presented by the Public Relations Society of America's Maryland chapter.Shandwick took the top prize in the awards, presented last night, for a campaign for the Maryland Food Committee.Other winners, by category:Community relations: Shandwick, with St. Joseph Medical Center, Reading, Pa.Institutional programs: Green Spring Health Services Inc.Special events and observances: (tie)

Sister Mary Pierre O'Regan, O.S.F., who was sent to Baltimore to close St. Joseph Hospital and wound up leading the effort to save it and build a new one in Towson, died Nov. 8 of heart failure at Assisi House, the Aston, Pa., retirement home of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.Sister Pierre, who was 93, was administrator of the Towson facility for 10 years. She retired in 1975.She served her first term as administrator of St. Joseph Hospital from 1939 to 1947, when the hospital was in the 1400 block of N. Caroline St. in East Baltimore.

Samuel A. JonesSupervisor, volunteerSamuel A. Jones, who worked 35 years for Cat's Paw Rubber Co. in South Baltimore and retired as a supervisor, died June 5 at St. Agnes Hospital after a heart attack. He was 75.The lifelong West Baltimore resident fully retired in 1985 after several years as a security guard for a nursing home. He did volunteer work at Rosewood State Hospital and enjoyed woodworking.He was a 1937 graduate of Douglass High School. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army and served in the Pacific.

So the governor pardons an ex-politico, Sam Green, who doesn't even say he's sorry and, as a matter of fact, still protests his innocence 20 years after his corruption trial. Of all the crooks a governor can pardon, he can't even find a contrite one. Not our Don Donaldo. His is a magic way, no? One pictures the man with his thumbs in his ears, his hands spread wide, his tongue sticking out, going "Nyah-nyah" as he heads into his final days. Not a pretty picture.Congrats, now vote for meHigh school seniors recently received a nice letter from Mayor Schmoke, congratulating them on reaching the 12th grade and wishing them well in their final year in Baltimore public schools.

Dr. Socrates KendrosGynecologistDr. Socrates Kendros, a gynecologist in Baltimore for 28 years, died Saturday in his sleep of heart failure at his Riderwood home. He was 68.He had an office at Church Home and Hospital but also practiced at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and at St. Joseph Hospital. He retired in 1990.He was a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, where he graduated from medical school. He came to the United States in 1955 and after a year as an intern in Chicago, he was a surgical resident in Baltimore.

Eleanor Mae H. FoxHospital officialEleanor Mae Harris Fox, a retired director of educational services at St. Joseph Hospital in Towson, died there Thursday of an aneurysm. She was 68.She retired from St. Joseph in 1987 after a 20-year career there. Earlier, she had been a faculty member at the Church Home and Hospital School of Nursing from 1946 until 1957 and a part-time supervisor from 1947 to 1966. She was acting director of nursing at the hospital for several months during 1963 and at the time of her death was a member of the board of directors of Church Hospital and the Church Home retirement center.

Two and a half years ago, in a story published in The Evening Sun, this columnist raised questions about the medical treatment Tiffany Troch received over the last 13 1/2 hours of her life.It was April 16, 1992, when Tiffany, the 13-year-old daughter of Mark and Debbie Troch, and an honor student at Perry Hall Middle School, slipped off a rope swing near her suburban home. FTC With their daughter complaining of abdominal pains caused by the 8-foot fall, the Troches drove her to St. Joseph Hospital (now Medical Center)

The St. Joseph Medical Center board of directors has appointed an outside executive to run the Towson hospital during a federal investigation of its financial dealings with an affiliated doctors group, a spokeswoman confirmed yesterday. Beth O'Brien, senior vice president for operations at the Denver-based Catholic Health Initiative, which owns St. Joseph and 71 other hospitals, was named Thursday to the post. Three unnamed hospital executives have stepped down from their jobs to avoid a conflict of interest during the inquiry, the scope of which is unknown.

Ruth C. Kammer, a retired registered nurse and world traveler, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Nov. 23 at the Edenwald retirement community in Towson. She was 92. Ruth Clemmens was born in Baltimore and raised near Patterson Park. She was a 1934 graduate of Seton High School and earned her nursing degree from the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing. While working as a nurse at the old St. Joseph Hospital on Caroline Street, she met and fell in love with William Henry Kammer Jr., a resident physician.

Dr. John Bernard Wells Jr., an anesthesiologist who loved classical music, sailing and explaining everything from human anatomy to how to build sailboats by drawing diagrams on napkins and pillowcases, died of prostate cancer Thursday at his son's home in Millersville. He was 92. Dr. Wells was born in Baltimore, the son of the late J. Bernard Wells, a former state's attorney for Baltimore. He grew up in a musical family where everyone played an instrument or sang. Dr. Wells learned to play the flute, and as a physician stationed in Marseille, France, during World War II, he had the opportunity to take some lessons with celebrated French flutist Jean-Pierre-Louis Rampal.

Sister Magdalen Joseph Drury, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis and retired hospital administrator, died of a stroke Feb. 7 at Assisi House, her order's retirement home in Aston, Pa. She was 91. Born Nona Magdalen Drury in Baltimore, she was a graduate of the old St. Anthony of Padua Commercial School. She professed her vows in 1939 after entering the order. She was an elementary school teacher from 1939 to 1941 at the old St. Paul's Parochial School in East Baltimore, and from 1944 to 1945 at St. Thomas Parochial School.

On February 29, 2004, EDNA SPARKMAN WILLOUGHBY, 82, passed away in the Hospice Care Center of St. Joseph Hospital, Lexington, KY; beloved wife of the late James Roscoe Willoughby; devoted mother of James Richard Willoughby and his wife June and Hughie Sparkman and his wife Mary. Also survived by four sisters, four brothers, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Mrs. Willoughby was preceded in death by her parents Isabelle and John D. Sparkman and three brothers. Funeral services will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk, Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue, on Thursday at 11 A.M. Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery.

William A. Dodd, a former Baltimore obstetrician and gynecologist, died on Saturday at his home in Dunedin, Fla., from complications of diabetes. He was 90. Born in Baltimore, Dr. Dodd was raised in Forest Park and graduated from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in 1934. He earned his medical degree from the university in 1938. After completing his residency at Mercy Hospital in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Dodd went into private practice, where he spent most of his days - and often his nights - in the delivery room.

Dr. Sullins G. Sullivan, a retired Baltimore physician who had been chief of surgery at St. Joseph Hospital and was a combat surgeon in Europe during World War II, died of heart failure July 20 at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 89. Dr. Sullivan was born and raised in Stonewall, Okla., the son of Dr. B.F. Sullivan, also a physician. "He rode on horseback with his father out through Indian territory when he went to treat the Osage Indians," said his daughter-in-law, Carol Primrose Sullivan of Kent Island.

St. Joseph Medical Center named John K. Tolmie its new president and chief executive officer yesterday. Tolmie is president and chief executive officer of the St. Joseph Regional Health Network, a two-hospital system in Pennsylvania. He starts work at the Towson hospital Jan. 8. He will be replacing James J. Cullen, who came to St. Joseph two years ago and resigned this month. Yesterday, Cullen declined to discuss his reasons for resigning, saying, "That's past." Carmen Deyesu, chairman of the St. Joseph board of directors, said of Cullen, "He had to decide if this environment was best for his abilities, and both sides came to the same conclusion."

Gertrude K. Atkinson, 80, nurse and ship's officer Gertrude K. Atkinson, a retired registered nurse and a merchant marine officer on ships captained by her husband, died Wednesday of heart failure at her Essex home. She was 80. In a varied life that took her from Baltimore hospitals to the swaying decks of freighters and oil tankers, Mrs. Atkinson began her nursing career in 1946 as obstetrics supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in East Baltimore, where she was later emergency room supervisor.

WHEN THE board of directors of Greater Baltimore Medical Center last week failed to agree to a partnership with nearby St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Joseph settled the issue by walking away from further discussions. That move is in the best interests of both institutions.As a Roman Catholic hospital, St. Joseph has forged a distinct identity reflecting the values and beliefs that have shaped its heritage. That includes adherence to Catholic principles and practices.Patients have come to expect good medical care at St. Joseph, but no one would expect that institution to provide abortion services or seek it out for sterilization or fertility treatments.