This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 30, 2011 - Dr. John H. Gladney is being remembered as much as a mentor to younger generations as he is for being a trailblazer among blacks in medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Gladney, who died Saturday (Nov. 26, 2011), was being treated for a pulmonary embolism at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Dr. Gladney, 89, was part of a now shrinking group of black doctors who found their way to St. Louis during the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Most interned and began their medical practices at segregated Homer G. Phillips Hospital before eventually opening doors and rising to positions of authority in white hospitals and on the teaching staffs at Washington University and Saint Louis University medical schools.
After earning degrees from Talladega College in Talladega, Ala., and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Dr. Gladney came to St. Louis for additional medical training at Phillips. He eventually became chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
He used to boast that he was one of a few doctors who had practiced medicine in St. Louis for half a century. But a lot of St. Louis residents remember him mainly as an inspiration to younger generations.
The Extra Mile
Dr. Jerome Williams Jr., part of the generation of doctors behind Gladney, says Gladney was part of a group of older physicians who were "always there to welcome with open arms new physicians" like himself. Williams' father, Dr. Jerome Williams Sr., was also part of Gladney's generation.
The younger Williams remembered Dr. Gladney as a physcian who pushed for cultural competence in medicine -- the idea that doctors need to understand environmental and social conditions to understand and treat patients -- long before many other doctors embraced the concept.
"He was one of the physicians that I had always admired because he always went the extra mile for his patients," Williams said. "He would know every single detail about his patients. Though he was a surgeon, he would understand all the other nuances and how they affected that patient's health."
Williams added, "I was honored when he (Dr. Gladney) chose me to be his physician. Besides being a great teacher of young physicians, he always went out of his way to make sure young physicians and medical students were equipped to become successful."
That trait explains why SLU's Medical School recognized Dr. Gladney with an award in his name, The John H. Gladney Diversity Award. It is given annually to a fourth-year medical student whose academic performance, community activities and leadership have helped to enhance diversity in the medical school.
Dr. Gladney's commitment to younger generations reached much further down the line. One event that undoubtedly pleased him occurred during the late 1990s when students at Laclede Elementary School threw a surprise party for Dr. Gladney for being the school's top "book buddy." He had begun volunteering at the school after retiring from medicine. The youngsters praised him for helping the school set goals for academic achievement and exceeding those goals.
Growing Up In Segregated Little Rock
He would be moved many times by honors like the one at Laclede and SLU, but Dr. Gladney never forgot the segregated Little Rock, Ark., environment that shaped him and motivated him to become a doctor.
When he was 6 years old, Dr. Gladney's grandmother took him to visit his terminally ill mother at a hospital in Little Rock. He recalled being led into a crowded room, dirty and smelly, filled with sick people. The image did not make a positive impression on him. But it did inspire him to want to become a doctor and to provide patients with care far superior to what his mother received in the dingy ward.
Like other African Americans in medicine during the early part of his career, Dr. Gladney said one thing he disliked most was being referred to as a "colored doctor." He says the term insinuated second-class status. But he said the sting was offset partly by the moral and professional support he got from some white doctors in St. Louis, along with the training and mentoring he had received at Meharry Medical School and at Phillips Hospital.
Always willing to step up and give back to the community: That's probably the best description of John H. Gladney. It undoubtedly will be one of the remembrances among friends and acquaintances when they gather for his funeral at 2 p.m. Saturday at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 826 Union Boulevard. The thought might also provide a little solace to survivors, including his wife, Clarice, and two daughters, Constance Agard and Judy Vickers.
Special correspondent Gloria Ross also contributed information for this obituary.
Funding for the Beacon's health reporting is provided in part by the Missouri Foundation for Health, a philanthropic organization that aims to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves.
