Pictured (from left): Mary June Tan, Michael Tan, M.D., Rowena Tan, Ph.D., and Stephanie Tan, M.D., carry on the legacy of the late Dr. James S. Tan.

Dr. James S. Tan Family:
Honoring a legacy of philanthropy and service

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2023 edition of Promise magazine.

During his 32-year career at Summa Health, the late Dr. James S. Tan led both the Department of Medicine and the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program as the area’s first infectious disease physician.

His legacy of scholarship, leadership, clinical excellence and philanthropic generosity was so profound that Dr. Tan was posthumously honored as the first-ever Summa Health Distinguished Physician in 2015.

Dr. Tan’s legacy lives on today through his family members, who give generously to the James S. Tan, M.D., Symposium Fund for medical education and research at Summa Health.

His wife, June, said she often reflects on the plaque at the entrance to the Department of Medicine that bears her husband’s name: “It reminds me of his legacy and why we give. My husband was involved in training the next generation and we want to see his work continue. Investing in the lives of future physicians is so important.”

She knows this firsthand. Two Tan children work in the medical field as physicians at Summa Health; the third is a clinical psychologist. Dr. Michael Tan, the medical director of the Summa Center for Clinical Trials, is helping to carry on the Tan legacy as division chief of Infectious Disease. Dr. Stephanie Tan is a faculty physician in Internal Medicine at Summa Health, and Dr. Rowena Tan is a professor of psychology at the University of Northern Iowa.

The Tan family’s collective giving extends beyond the James S. Tan, M.D., Symposium Fund to areas such as palliative care and supporting the Summa Health Sapphire Ball.

“Giving back to Summa Health is our way of honoring our family heritage and Jim’s memory,” June said.

For more information about supporting Summa Health, please contact Summa Foundation at foundation@summahealth.org or 330.375.3159.