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Recognizing and honoring the incredible life of Dr. Richard Rothman, an icon in the field of medicine, who passed away on October 21, 2018 at the age of 81 years old.
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WHEREAS, Richard Rothman, founder of the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute which employs 210 surgeons and has 36 offices throughout the region, was one of the first American surgeons to perform hip replacements and developed an international reputation as a surgeon and implant developer; and
WHEREAS, Alex Vaccaro, the Rothman Institute's President and Chairman, explained that Dr. Rothman “trained the future and present leaders of medicine,” and Stephen Klasko, CEO of Jefferson Health further noted that “Jefferson would not be what it is today without [Dr. Rothman’s] inspired leadership”; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Rothman, a native of Cheltenham, was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and in 1969 traveled to England to learn how to perform hip replacements from surgical pioneer John Charnley; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Rothman was only a couple of years into his practice when he replaced the hip of Walter Annenberg, publisher and philanthropist. After Dr. Rothman told Mr. Annenberg about his desire to open a "center of excellence in hip surgery," the philanthropist donated millions of dollars to create the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute; and
WHEREAS, In the years since, the Rothman Institute — now affiliated with Jefferson Health, Main Line Health, Geisinger, Northwell Health, and Capital Health — has grown into one of the world's largest orthopedic organizations, with 755,000 patient visits a year. Annual revenue is a half-billion dollars. The organization ranks second among orthopedic groups in research grants from the National Institutes of Health; and
WHEREAS, When asked in a 2016 interview with the Philadelphia Business Journal why he still headed to the operating room every week when most people his age had retired years ago, Dr. Rothman explained, “I’m fully engaged. Somebody today said to me, ‘Why don’t you take some time and smell the roses and enjoy life.’ That’s what I am doing. I think being fully engaged in something you enjoy is so unusual. Most people work because it’s a living. They pay you for it. That’s why they call it work. I enjoy art and collecting and fitness, but taking care of sick people is the most gratifying thing I do”; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Rothman estimated that he had done as many as 50,000 hip and knee replacements and the second generation of a hip implant that Dr. Rothman helped design remains one of the world's top-two artificial hips and has brought in more than $1 billion in revenue to the Institute; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Richard Rothman has earned the gratitude and admiration of our great City through his remarkable leadership in the field of medicine and through his outstanding career and his legacy can’t be celebrated enough as we mourn his loss; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby recognizes and honors the incredible life of Dr. Richard Rothman, an icon in the field of medicine, who passed away on October 21, 2018 at the age of 81 years old.
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