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House Calls with JohnBy John Radebaugh M.D.Patients taught many lessons to Dr. Radebaugh, a graduate of Harvard Medical School. He listened carefully, treated patients with respect, and was always available for house calls. He spent three years with Cesar Chavez, whose nonviolent efforts to organize farm workers, along with the grape boycott, attracted many supporters of justice for exploited workers. Humor and pathos summarize the career of a compassionate physician, dedicated to serving the poor. Readers' CommentsJohn Radebaugh is the epitome of the heart and art of medicine ... his patients varied from migrant farm workers to Ivy League professors, but his commitment to caring never wavered at any step of the way. Awesome, courageous, inspiring, visionary and told with wonderful humor and wit! ... puts into words exactly the ideals that inspired me and others to enter the profession of medicine. House Calls with John is a book with compelling appeal for a wide range of readers. his insightful personality inspired workers and students to consider socially responsible careers. Encouraging to read how one person had such an impact in many undeserved areas of our country. About the AuthorDr. John Radebaugh's peripatetic career originated at Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, where he had a fine background in humanities and science. He followed at Harvard Medical School, where Dr. William Castle, a Nobel Prize winner, was one of his favorite teachers. Following a rotating internship at Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover, New Hampshire, he completed training in Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Later he joined the pediatric faculty at University of Rochester School of Medicine. He was introduced to the terrible conditions of farm workers, and was so shocked that he helped create volunteer health clinics for these workers, which later developed into comprehensive community projects for two rural towns. Cesar Chavez recruited him, with his wife, to volunteer with the United Farm Workers Union in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Having visited India to learn about Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent methods, Chavez applied them effectively to secure rights for farm workers. Dr. Radebaugh admired him as an outstanding leader, but exhaustion forced him to leave after three years of service. Returning to Harvard Medical School for additional training, Dr. Radebaugh passed boards for family medicine, and received an appointment in family community medicine at Stanford Medical School. Six years later, he was appointed to Dartmouth Medical School as a clinical associate professor of Community and Family Medicine, and continued until the time of his retirement in 1991. In 1991, an award was established in his honor, the John. F. Radebaugh Community Service Award for a deserving Dartmouth medical student in each graduating class. In 1999, he was inducted into the Farm Worker Advocate Hall of Fame by Rural Opportunities, Inc., Rochester, New York, for many years of service to improve living and working conditions for migrant farm workers. Cesar Chavez received the same award a number of years previously. John and his wife, Dotty, who played a strong supportive role throughout his career, are retired and living in Maine. Contact InformationJohn F. Radebaugh | |
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