azskeptic
03-08-2005, 10:31 PM
Doing this interview with Dr. Butterworth was an honor. She is truly one of Kansas City's treasures and it is fun to bring out her story to some others. Dean Hughson
http://www.northeastnews.net/03-09-05/e-interviews.html
University’s Gem, Dr. Butterworth
Dr. Mary Butterworth poses in front of the 7,500-square-foot alumni center of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences named in her honor.
Northeast High School Class of ‘69 alumnus Dean Hughson continues e-mail interviews from his home-base in Arizona, this week having a conversation with Dr. Mary Butterworth, D.O. In 50 years with the now-named Kansas City University of Medicine and Bioscience, Dr. Butterworth has taught literally legions of anesthesiologists and been integral in thousands of lives. The alumni center on Woodland, built in 2001, was named after her as a matter of fact for her decades of work with student doctors. She is also dean of alumni affairs emeritus. The Mary L. Butterworth, D.O. Alumni Center was part of an $8 million capital improvements campaign that includes the 45,000-square-foot research and education building.
1. Dr. Butterworth, you are legendary at the Osteopathic College (what we old-timers in Northeast always knew KCUMB as). How did you originally get interested in medicine?
My parents had osteopathic physicians as our family doctors. It was through questioning them, when I finally decided what I wanted to do, that I decided to give it a try.
2. What changes have you seen in medicine and osteopathy?
When I entered the college in 1950, Dr. Peach told me I was getting in on the "ground floor." He was right. Osteopathic and allopathic medicine were entering a growing phase. The advent of Medicare changed the practice of medicine forever. All of a sudden, the government poured funds into the system. Hospitals boomed and grew larger and larger. Training programs skyrocketed and student numbers increased through government loans.
3. Dr. Butterworth, growing up I remember a student doctor who was a retired railroad conductor. He decided to become an osteopath, since the town at the end of his rail line needed one. Have there been some stories like that that stick out in your memory?
This is not uncommon, as all students seem to have a reason for going into medicine. Some have family needs, others want to follow in the footsteps of a doctor in the their town who impressed them, others want to serve in small towns where the need is great.
4. How has the Northeast community changed in your memory?
In 1950 the Northeast Community was a vibrant, full-blooded section of Kansas City. The Mancuso Family Food Market on Independence Avenue, The Pernice Barbershop and Dr. Andersen’s office building at Independence and Prospect were all thriving. Several doctors of osteopathy had offices in the building on Prospect and Independence as well. One could shop for a variety of wants and needs between Woodland and Chestnut because Cliff Drive was open all the way. It was a very respected section of Kansas City. The Rose Marie flower shop and the post office next door along with the Independence Boulevard Christian Church and St. John’s Catholic Church and school were the anchors of the area. I lived in an apartment building behind the Phillips service station as an anesthesia resident at the Osteopathic Hospital and Conley Maternity Hospitals. I had no qualms about going out to the hospitals at all hours of the night.
5. What are your hopes for the future of the university?
As an Osteopathic medical school, we have always been “top dog,” and I see no reason to believe that will ever change. Our campus has tripled in size, and I know we will continue to grow and continue to support the Northeast community. Our administrative team headed by Karen Pletz, J.D. is very committed to the osteopathic medical profession, as are our alumni and board of trustees. We will continue to grow as a multiple college university. The sky is the limit!
Over the past 50 years, I have seen overwhelming changes at the KCUMB and in the field of osteopathic medicine. Having graduated from KCCOS in 1954, completing my rotating internship and residency in anesthesiology at the Osteopathic Hospital on 11th and Harrison, and serving as Professor of Anesthesiology at KCUMB from 1964 to the present time, I have personally experienced a multitude of progress at our college. Some of this progress includes physical changes: a new hospital, a new college and the acquisition of the old Children’s Mercy Hospital Complex, now the main campus of KCUMB. The underlying progress involves people, particularly those who have chosen to dedicate their lives to the osteopathic profession.
As executive director of the alumni association for the past 42 years, it has been my pleasure to be associated with the alumni and to attend AOA conventions and state conventions as representative of the alumni group.
Perhaps the greatest and most pleasurable aspect of my 50-year career has been in academic teaching. I have had the privilege of sharing my knowledge and watching our students mature during their time on our campus. They are the lifeblood of our institution and teaching them has been one of the greatest thrills and honors I have experienced.
Throughout these many years, I have made our college my life’s work and I am very proud of where we are and where we have been. I am grateful for the experiences, changes and professional education that has given all of us so much.
KCUMB Highlights
Recent programs, faculty and student achievements
March 9, 2005
• Score 1 for Health, a partnership between the Deron Cherry Foundation and Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences that provides free health screenings to children living in the urban core, picked up two new schools in Kansas City, Kan. The addition is the program’s first venture on the Kansas side of the state line, and program coordinators are hoping to continue to increase that presence in the future. With the addition, Score 1 for Health now provides 15,000 free health screenings annually amongst its 39 participating schools.
• Donald L. McCandless, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, has been honored by DOCARE International with the organization’s most prestigious award, the Ernest A. Allaby Award. Dr. McCandless has been involved in every medical mission since the University’s first DOCARE effort in 1995. He provides a vital link for the physicians treating the underserved with his knowledge and leadership in the pharmacy. The Ernest A. Allaby Award has been given to only six other people in the organization’s 42-year existence. This marks the third time the award has been given to a faculty member at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.
• Research has taken on a more prominent role at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences over the past few years, and all those involved in making that happen took time to showcase the fruits of their labor February 25 during the University’s 13th annual Research Symposium. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, M.D., served as the event’s keynote speaker. Dr. Pi-Sunyer, professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, shared his extensive knowledge on the topics of obesity and diabetes.
• Research Symposium 2005 was chaired by Paul Dew, M.D., associate professor of preventive medicine, and attracted 12 oral and 17 poster presentations from faculty, students and residents. Research Symposium winners included: Ankur Mehta, first-place student oral presentation; Divya Patel, second-place student oral presentation; Natalie Kamberos, third-place student oral presentation; Norbert Seidler, Ph.D., first-place faculty oral presentation; Donald Menya, first-place student poster presentation; Gregory Oh and Joshua Hogins, second-place student poster presentation; Bonnie Buxton, Ph.D., first-place faculty poster presentation; and Robert McNab, D.O., first-place resident poster presentation.
• Lori Boyajian-O’Neill, D.O., associate professor and chair of family medicine, was recently selected as one of Kansas City’s "Heroes in Healthcare" for 2005 by Ingram’s Magazine. Dr. Boyajian-O’Neill will receive her award March 29 during a special recognition reception for this year’s honorees at the Downtown Marriott.
http://www.northeastnews.net/03-09-05/e-interviews.html
University’s Gem, Dr. Butterworth
Dr. Mary Butterworth poses in front of the 7,500-square-foot alumni center of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences named in her honor.
Northeast High School Class of ‘69 alumnus Dean Hughson continues e-mail interviews from his home-base in Arizona, this week having a conversation with Dr. Mary Butterworth, D.O. In 50 years with the now-named Kansas City University of Medicine and Bioscience, Dr. Butterworth has taught literally legions of anesthesiologists and been integral in thousands of lives. The alumni center on Woodland, built in 2001, was named after her as a matter of fact for her decades of work with student doctors. She is also dean of alumni affairs emeritus. The Mary L. Butterworth, D.O. Alumni Center was part of an $8 million capital improvements campaign that includes the 45,000-square-foot research and education building.
1. Dr. Butterworth, you are legendary at the Osteopathic College (what we old-timers in Northeast always knew KCUMB as). How did you originally get interested in medicine?
My parents had osteopathic physicians as our family doctors. It was through questioning them, when I finally decided what I wanted to do, that I decided to give it a try.
2. What changes have you seen in medicine and osteopathy?
When I entered the college in 1950, Dr. Peach told me I was getting in on the "ground floor." He was right. Osteopathic and allopathic medicine were entering a growing phase. The advent of Medicare changed the practice of medicine forever. All of a sudden, the government poured funds into the system. Hospitals boomed and grew larger and larger. Training programs skyrocketed and student numbers increased through government loans.
3. Dr. Butterworth, growing up I remember a student doctor who was a retired railroad conductor. He decided to become an osteopath, since the town at the end of his rail line needed one. Have there been some stories like that that stick out in your memory?
This is not uncommon, as all students seem to have a reason for going into medicine. Some have family needs, others want to follow in the footsteps of a doctor in the their town who impressed them, others want to serve in small towns where the need is great.
4. How has the Northeast community changed in your memory?
In 1950 the Northeast Community was a vibrant, full-blooded section of Kansas City. The Mancuso Family Food Market on Independence Avenue, The Pernice Barbershop and Dr. Andersen’s office building at Independence and Prospect were all thriving. Several doctors of osteopathy had offices in the building on Prospect and Independence as well. One could shop for a variety of wants and needs between Woodland and Chestnut because Cliff Drive was open all the way. It was a very respected section of Kansas City. The Rose Marie flower shop and the post office next door along with the Independence Boulevard Christian Church and St. John’s Catholic Church and school were the anchors of the area. I lived in an apartment building behind the Phillips service station as an anesthesia resident at the Osteopathic Hospital and Conley Maternity Hospitals. I had no qualms about going out to the hospitals at all hours of the night.
5. What are your hopes for the future of the university?
As an Osteopathic medical school, we have always been “top dog,” and I see no reason to believe that will ever change. Our campus has tripled in size, and I know we will continue to grow and continue to support the Northeast community. Our administrative team headed by Karen Pletz, J.D. is very committed to the osteopathic medical profession, as are our alumni and board of trustees. We will continue to grow as a multiple college university. The sky is the limit!
Over the past 50 years, I have seen overwhelming changes at the KCUMB and in the field of osteopathic medicine. Having graduated from KCCOS in 1954, completing my rotating internship and residency in anesthesiology at the Osteopathic Hospital on 11th and Harrison, and serving as Professor of Anesthesiology at KCUMB from 1964 to the present time, I have personally experienced a multitude of progress at our college. Some of this progress includes physical changes: a new hospital, a new college and the acquisition of the old Children’s Mercy Hospital Complex, now the main campus of KCUMB. The underlying progress involves people, particularly those who have chosen to dedicate their lives to the osteopathic profession.
As executive director of the alumni association for the past 42 years, it has been my pleasure to be associated with the alumni and to attend AOA conventions and state conventions as representative of the alumni group.
Perhaps the greatest and most pleasurable aspect of my 50-year career has been in academic teaching. I have had the privilege of sharing my knowledge and watching our students mature during their time on our campus. They are the lifeblood of our institution and teaching them has been one of the greatest thrills and honors I have experienced.
Throughout these many years, I have made our college my life’s work and I am very proud of where we are and where we have been. I am grateful for the experiences, changes and professional education that has given all of us so much.
KCUMB Highlights
Recent programs, faculty and student achievements
March 9, 2005
• Score 1 for Health, a partnership between the Deron Cherry Foundation and Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences that provides free health screenings to children living in the urban core, picked up two new schools in Kansas City, Kan. The addition is the program’s first venture on the Kansas side of the state line, and program coordinators are hoping to continue to increase that presence in the future. With the addition, Score 1 for Health now provides 15,000 free health screenings annually amongst its 39 participating schools.
• Donald L. McCandless, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, has been honored by DOCARE International with the organization’s most prestigious award, the Ernest A. Allaby Award. Dr. McCandless has been involved in every medical mission since the University’s first DOCARE effort in 1995. He provides a vital link for the physicians treating the underserved with his knowledge and leadership in the pharmacy. The Ernest A. Allaby Award has been given to only six other people in the organization’s 42-year existence. This marks the third time the award has been given to a faculty member at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.
• Research has taken on a more prominent role at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences over the past few years, and all those involved in making that happen took time to showcase the fruits of their labor February 25 during the University’s 13th annual Research Symposium. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, M.D., served as the event’s keynote speaker. Dr. Pi-Sunyer, professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, shared his extensive knowledge on the topics of obesity and diabetes.
• Research Symposium 2005 was chaired by Paul Dew, M.D., associate professor of preventive medicine, and attracted 12 oral and 17 poster presentations from faculty, students and residents. Research Symposium winners included: Ankur Mehta, first-place student oral presentation; Divya Patel, second-place student oral presentation; Natalie Kamberos, third-place student oral presentation; Norbert Seidler, Ph.D., first-place faculty oral presentation; Donald Menya, first-place student poster presentation; Gregory Oh and Joshua Hogins, second-place student poster presentation; Bonnie Buxton, Ph.D., first-place faculty poster presentation; and Robert McNab, D.O., first-place resident poster presentation.
• Lori Boyajian-O’Neill, D.O., associate professor and chair of family medicine, was recently selected as one of Kansas City’s "Heroes in Healthcare" for 2005 by Ingram’s Magazine. Dr. Boyajian-O’Neill will receive her award March 29 during a special recognition reception for this year’s honorees at the Downtown Marriott.