Three generations of caregiving
The Ormond family of physicians carries on a rich tradition of caring for the community
Alexander P. Ormond Sr., Alexander P. Ormond Jr. and Alexander P. Ormond III have more than their names in common. Physicians all, they share the credentials of M.D. In their case, the adage, “Like father, like son,” also must include, “like grandson,” in a dynasty that includes strong philanthropic support for the professional education of the physicians who follow them.
The Ormond legacy began with the late Alexander P. Ormond Sr., M.D., who worked his way through medical school as a jazz pianist, graduating with honors from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1925. He then completed an internship and residency at Philadelphia General and postgraduate courses in cardiology and internal medicine at the American College of Physicians. In 1927, he joined a local clinic in Akron as its first internist.
His son, Alexander P. Ormond Jr., M.D., followed his father into medicine because “he could see that his father performed a good service.” He joined his father’s practice in 1965 after graduating from the same medical school and completing his internship at what is now Summa Health System – Akron Campus, his internal medicine residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and a cardiology fellowship at University Hospitals of Cleveland. Father and son were a physician team until Dr. Ormond Sr. retired in 1974.
Dr. Ormond Jr., who retired in 1999, specialized in cardiology at Summa Health in an era of explosive change. Several years before he began practicing, the heart-lung machine had made lengthy, open-chest procedures for heart repair possible, he said. Surgical techniques soon included the coronary artery bypass and balloon angioplasty, a less invasive method of opening clogged arteries using catheterization. Dr. Ormond Jr., in fact, performed the first retrograde left heart catheterization and coronary angiography in Summit County in 1966.
Among other numerous awards, the American Heart Association honored him as a “Pioneer in Cardiology” in 2003. Dr. Ormond Jr. and his wife, Kathleen, who are committed to sustaining and advancing cardiology care at Summa Health, provide generous support to the Summa Health Heart and Vascular Institute’s cardiovascular medicine fellowship.
Having grown up seeing the same good service his father saw in his grandfather, Alexander P. Ormond III, M.D., followed them into medicine. He graduated from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, completing an internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Summa Health System – Akron Campus, where he currently practices. He, too, is a generous supporter of professional education at Summa Health Women’s Institute.
There currently are six great-grandchildren of Dr. Ormond Sr. in various stages of their education. Time will tell if a fourth-generation physician is among them.
NOTE: This story originally appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of Promise magazine.