The Connection

About the Book

The Connection traces the remarkable relationship between Johns Hopkins Hospital and Vanderbilt Hospital, beginning in 1919 and continuing to this day. More than 400 faculty members, including five deans/vice chancellors of medical affairs and at least twenty department chairs, moved from Hopkins to Vanderbilt and brought the cutting-edge concepts of Hopkins with them. These methods and approaches transformed Vanderbilt and indeed the American medical center into the modern institution it is today. Friesinger tracks the effects on departments, administration, and the practice of medicine itself while bringing to life many of the distinguished—and colorful—individuals who played parts.

About the Author

Gottlieb Christian Friesinger II (1929–2012) was a leading cardiologist at both Johns Hopkins (1955–1971) and Vanderbilt (1971–2012) medical centers. He was on the board of trustees at Hopkins for nineteen years. The Friesinger Society was founded in 2000, and it endowed a chair in his name in 2005 at Vanderbilt. In 1960, he was the first to successfully use the Kouwenhoven defibrillator. His research activities, primarily funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), resulted in more than one hundred original publications in peer-reviewed journals, more than twenty-five chapters in textbooks, and the editing of two books. This account, written with authority and affection, reflects the man himself—brilliant, sensible, and insatiably curious. A lifelong learner here shares his knowledge one more time.