Legacy Award: The Late William A. Reed, MD

William Reed: Doing a heart transplant is a special, special gift of life, from one person to another.

Then you wait, because the heart is still silent when you restore blood flow to it, and everyone is waiting, and everyone is hoping and praying. And then all of a sudden that happens. And a new life has been restored to that patient.

Bob Page: When I think of Bill Reed, I think of someone who was wise, courageous, incredibly talented, a risk taker.

Bryan Reed: I know, not only from him, but from other doctors and from scrub techs, from nurses, that there'd be cases where you get into the chest and a lot of other doctors go, "Oh, my gosh." And he would be like, "Huh. Let's figure this out."

Tammy Peterman: When we did educational sessions for our nurses and respiratory therapists and others, when we were teaching them and making sure they understood some of the protocols and the standards that the surgeons and the cardiologists would be utilizing, he said, "We're not stopping with just the nurses, the respiratory therapists, and the pharmacists. Everyone has to be involved in this."

Bob Page: He wanted the entire team to be discussed, the entire team to come together, explaining how the housekeeper is just as important as anybody else on the team.

William Reed: I think he's scheduled for a quadruple today.

Barbara Gill MacArthur: Dr. Reed was absolutely clear about the fact that he was never there by himself. He was never in the operating room by himself. He was never at a bedside by himself. And understood that the team around him was really focused on the patient and that he was a member of that team.

Bryan Reed: A lot of people felt included by my dad, in so many different areas, felt like, "Dr. Reed actually cares what I do here. It's not just the guys that are doing the surgery." Which is what he did, but he really cared about the team.

Tammy Peterman: I visited many times with Dr. Reed about nursing and the profession, about the importance of nursing in our hospital and in the cardiovascular service line. We established the Nursing Excellence Award for cardiovascular services for nurses. It all started back in his office one day when we were talking about nursing. Dr. Reed also knew that nurse navigation was so very important. So we established the Mary Reed Nurse Navigation Fund.

Barbara Gill MacArthur: Dr. Reed was very supportive of nursing. And part of that was because his beloved wife was a nurse and he was proud of the fact that she was. That was part of their relationship from the very beginning. And part of what they shared was a love for nursing.

Legacy is what you contribute, how you influence every single day. Dr. Reed built his legacy every single day that he was here.

Tammy Peterman: Dr. Reed had wisdom and great experience and many other things. He also put the patient at the center of decision making, always.

Bob Page: I'll miss seeing him. I'll miss the hallway chat. I'll miss the sports conversation. I'll miss talking about medicine. I think Bill's legacy will be the courage and wisdom he had to come back home and to bring a team with him and to build from virtually scratch a world class cardiovascular program.

Bryan Reed: He would be flattered, humbled, with receiving the award. He would've thanked a number of the people around him, probably even some of the folks that maybe have served him lunch in the cafeteria the day before. I hope what his legacy is here is beyond just what's happened with the heart center is this willingness to take on challenges, wholeheartedly, and with the idea that you can succeed.

William Reed: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the privilege of being counted among those whose service is worthy of your recognitions. Thank you.