James West (physician), Date of Birth, Date of Death

    

James West (physician)

physician

Date of Birth: 29-Mar-1914

Date of Death: 24-Jul-2012

Profession: psychiatrist, surgeon, journalist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Aries


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About James West (physician)

  • James Ward West (March 29, 1914 – July 24, 2012) was an American physician, psychiatrist, surgeon, and pioneer in the fields of organ transplantation and addiction treatment.
  • He was part of a team of surgeons who performed the world's first kidney transplant in 1950.
  • West practiced as a surgeon from 1948 to 1981.
  • He then focused on psychiatry during his later career.
  • He co-founded the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, in 1982.
  • West served as the founding medical director of the Betty Ford Center from 1982 until 1989.West was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 29, 1914.
  • He was the oldest of his parents' four children.
  • West attending a Wisconsin boarding school run by the Jesuits, where he decided to become a doctor as a high school sophomore.
  • West graduated from the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago.
  • Another student as Loyola Chicago first gave him amphetamines and he became an alcoholic as an undergraduate student.He was a member of the surgical team, led by Richard Lawler, who carried out the world's first kidney transplant in 1950 at the Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
  • The surgery was performed on a 44-year-old female patient who suffered from polycystic kidney disease.
  • He practiced surgery from 1942 until 1981.A recovering alcoholic, West successfully remained sober for 54 years, from the late 1950s until his death in 2012.
  • West carried a sobriety chip in his pocket everyday during all of those years.
  • He gave up surgery after forty years to specialize and study psychiatry, specifically focusing on substance abuse and related issues.He taught at Rush-Presbyterian-St.
  • Luke's Medical Center, now called the Rush University Medical Center, as an assistant professor.
  • He also taught psychiatry at the University of Chicago.
  • West also founded Haymarket Center, a detox center located in Chicago, in 1975.West joined with former First Lady of the United States Betty Ford to help launch the Betty Ford Center.
  • The facility opened on October 4, 1982.
  • He served as the Center's first medical director from 1982 until 1989.
  • West mandated that physicians served as full members of the center's treatment teams.In 1989, West became the director of the Betty Ford Center's outpatient programs.
  • He remained with the Betty Ford Center until 2007, when he retired at 93 years old.West also contributed a weekly column called "Sober Days" to The Desert Sun, addressing questions about alcoholism and alcohol abuse sent in by newspaper readers.
  • His last column was published on July 26, 2012.His health began to decline in April 2012.
  • James West died at his home in Palm Desert, California, on July 24, 2012, at the age of 98.
  • His memorial service was held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert.

Read more at Wikipedia

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