A Loss for Peoria--November 2014
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| Children's Hospital of Illinois--Photo by John Carroll |
This Journal Star Forum article is a tribute to Dr. Dale Geiss. It was published yesterday (November 15, 2014).
A Loss for Peoria
Dr. Dale Geiss, cardiac surgeon, recently moved his practice from Peoria to the Quad Cities.
Dr. Geiss began his practice of adult and pediatric heart surgery in 1980. During the past 34 years he has made enormous contributions to the advancement of medical care in Peoria and the region. As a pediatric cardiologist, I had the opportunity to work with him as he built the only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Illinois outside of Chicago. For 20 years he worked tirelessly to provide the best and most advanced treatment of congenital heart lesions. He was a brilliant technician and insisted that Peoria should be a full-service program, as good as any in the nation. “Good enough for Peoria” was never acceptable for him.
A skilled pilot, he was on call 24/7 and often cut short vacations or national meetings to return to attend to one of his patients. Usually he would complain to me that I should have called him back sooner. In later years, he recruited a younger congenital heart surgeon, provided him tutelage, and the program continued to grow in size and quality with results comparable to the best centers in the country.
He has continued his busy practice in adult heart surgery and has made major contributions to both downtown medical centers. Thousands of patients, adult and pediatric, have benefitted from his dedication, perseverance and relentless advocacy for cutting-edge, quality care. Peoria was not the same after he arrived, and will never be the same again.
He will be missed. I will miss him. Thank you, Dale!
William H. Albers, M.D.
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My comments:
Dr. Dale Geiss established the surgical pediatric heart program at OSF-CHOI through incredible hard work, tenacity, and skill. It took decades to accomplish this.
Dr. Geiss operated Haitian Hearts patients and never sent me one bill. And neither did his perfusionist, operating team, or the myriad of pediatric speciality physicians taking care of the Haitian kids post-operatively. (Haitian Hearts did pay OSF-CHOI over 1.1 million dollars for use of their facility and excellent pediatric cardiovascular ICU staff.) As a result of these efforts many Haitian kids who were in Peoria are now adults in Haiti and are having their own healthy children.
And don’t forget Dr. Geiss mentored a young pediatric heart surgeon, Dr. Randall Fortuna, for the last 12 years. Unfortunately, Doctor Fortuna just left town too.
Pediatric heart surgeons like these men with their unique abilities are not found on every street corner. What a shame for central Illinois.
Like most everything else in life, we don’t know what we have until it is gone.
John A. Carroll, MD
www.haitianhearts.org
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