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Go For Broke by Richard A Close, MD, FACS, FAANS
Go for Broke
by Richard A. Close, MD, FACS, FAANS
A Book Review by Raymond C. Truex, Jr., MD
In a letter to Robert Hooke written in 1675, Sir Isaac Newton wrote a phrase which is often referred to in scientific discussion, which is “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants,” meaning that each scientific advance is based on the discoveries of those that preceded it. I doubt that many of the young physicians in Berks County have had the time or interest to discover the “Giants” of their own area of specialization, who came before them locally, given that most physicians beginning their practice of medicine tend to look to the future and act in the immediate present. However, with the benefit of advancing age, older physicians tend to look back on the road that they have travelled with thoughtfulness and an eye towards the forces that shaped their careers. Paraphrasing the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived going forwards, but it can only be understood looking backward.”
My partner in the practice of Neurosurgery for almost 30 years, Dr. Dick Close, recently retired from the Reading Hospital after 42 years of service in Berks County, making him the longestserving Neurosurgeon in Berks County history, and possibly the most senior surgeon of any specialty in Reading Hospital. With the help of Berks County historian George Meiser IX and Dr. Eric Hudgins, he took it upon himself to compile a history of the Neurosurgical service at Reading Hospital, the history of which is intimately related to the evolution of Reading Hospital into the powerhouse which it is today.
In Go for Broke, Dr. Close documents the history of the Neurosurgical service, which began in 1952 with the arrival of Dr. Herbert Johnson to Berks County. Johnson had been the #2 Neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins, where he served as the primary clinical backup for his famous mentor and chairman, Dr. A. Earl Walker.
When Herbert Johnson announced his intention to relocate to Reading Hospital — which at the time was devoid of neurosurgical coverage — Dr. Walker told him that he would starve in Reading. Nevertheless, Dr. Johnson decided to “go for broke” and brought his expertise to Berks County. Through personality, skill and amazingly hard work, Dr. Johnson went on to build a referral service that extended throughout Berks, Schuylkill, Lebanon, and parts of Lancaster and Montgomery counties. Patients that formerly would have to travel to Philadelphia were now able to find excellent care in their own city. Dr. Johnson went on to become Chief of Surgery at Reading Hospital, and he was responsible for recruiting other specialists who modernized and transformed the quality of medical care. Thus, it could be asserted that Reading Hospital would not have achieved its current status if it were not for the vision of Dr. Herbert Johnson, who would die of a cardiac arrest in 1990.
Dr. Close carries the history through the intervening years in a well-written personal narrative, accompanied by many photographs. Picking up the “Go for Broke” theme established early in the book, Dr. Close ends by applying this theme by drawing parallels to the current financial problems experienced by Tower Health. Although the concept of building a larger population base along the Route 422 corridor was well founded, its implementation was not successful because of the inexperience of the Tower Health administration in supervising such an extended endeavor, and the COVID-19 pandemic was the final straw which forced the extended cancellation of elective surgeries. Despite the failed implementation of Tower Health’s modernized “Go for Broke” strategy, Dr. Close finishes by expressing optimism for the future if the Tower Health system can recapture the high standards of patient care established long ago under Dr. Herbert Johnson’s leadership.
I encourage the younger Berks physicians to read this book, which will lead them to better appreciate the pioneers of medicine in our area, and to understand the challenges of our profession a century ago. The older physician may be inspired to similarly compile a history of his own specialty locally, out of respect for the giants on whose shoulders he stands. Paperback copies of Dr. Dick Close’s Go for Broke (Masthof Press) may be obtained through the Berks County Medical Society or from Tower Health Neurosurgery Group.
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