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resident physicians through Sacred Heart’s pediatric residency program up until his retirement. “Dr. Westmark served as a true model for the way medicine should be practiced,” said Dr. Gary Griffin, a retired pediatrician who trained in residency under Dr. Westmark and grew to consider him a mentor and friend. “Dr. Westmark was the kindest Southern gentleman, the father of our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and a credit to healthcare and to Sacred Heart.” A Pensacola native, Dr. Westmark graduated from Pensacola High School and received his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University. He spent four years as a pilot and instructor for the U.S. Air Force before attending medical school, and he remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserves for eight years while in medical school and beginning his early practice. Dr. Westmark was a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and participated in professional organizations such as the Escambia County Medical Society, the Florida Medical Association, the American Medical Association and the Florida Society of Neonatal Perinatologists. Dr. Jimmy Jones, a retired pediatric surgeon who worked with Dr. Westmark for decades, described him as “quiet, gentle, courteous, caring, knowledgeable and a visionary.” “Ed Westmark was a quiet, gentle physician who never raised his voice,” Dr. Jones said. “He would listen and then quietly do what was right for his patients and the hospital. Medicine has changed a lot since Ed began, but it is physicians like him who, with tenacity, have made things better for our smallest patients.” Considered a mentor, friend and teacher and referred to affectionately by his staff as “Uncle Ed,” Dr. Westmark will be greatly missed at Sacred Heart Hospital and by the generations of families he served. As one of The Children’s Hospital’s founders, Dr. Westmark’s portrait is displayed in the hospital lobby, along with Dr. Reed Bell, Dr. John Whitcomb and Sr. Carol Keehan. Westmark’s death occurred just before the hospital commenced construction on Monday, March 6,
on its new four-story children’s hospital. The forthcoming hospital will be located in front of the existing building and include a pediatric emergency department and trauma center, pediatric-dedicated operating rooms, a neonatal intensive care unit, a pediatric intensive care unit, a pediatric oncology unit, medical beds, a pediatric satellite pharmacy, a pediatric inpatient rehabilitation gym and child playrooms. While our walls are expanding, the central mission of the Children’s Hospital will remain — children are at the heart of everything we do. “He was an icon,” said Susan Davis, Sacred Heart Health System president and CEO. “Without Dr. Westmark’s vision, enthusiasm and just his creativity, we wouldn’t be building a children’s hospital today.” “Uncle Ed’s” legacy will be forever felt in our community. We ask that you join Dr. Westmark’s legacy of care for children throughout the Gulf Coast, by making a gift today. Visit SupportSacredHeart.org or call (850) 416-4660.
A message from Carol Carlan In the words of Isaac Newton, “If I have seen further it is by standing on (the) shoulders of giants.” In this issue of “Stories from the Heart,” you will hear the stories of some of our “giants” — Bill Greenhut, Eric and Peg Nickelsen, Dr. Ed Westmark and our Mr. Paul. Bill Greenhut’s family worked with the Daughters of Charity to help establish what is now known as Sacred Heart Hospital Pensacola. Dr. Ed Westmark worked with Drs. Reed Bell and John Whitcomb to open the area’s only hospital dedicated solely to children’s care. Opening in 1969, this hospital is now known as The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart. Eric and Peg Nickelsen, through their service to God, family and community, purchased and donated the property for what is now known as Sacred Heart Health System’s Miracle Camp. And, we have individuals like Mr. Paul, a Walmart people-greeter, who enthusiastically shares the miraculous work of The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart every day. At Sacred Heart Foundation, we owe much to those who have gone before us. These kind and gentle giants have passionately furthered the mission of Sacred Heart. All because they cared about others, especially the less fortunate, and they wanted to make our community better.
Carol Carlan President, Sacred Heart Foundation
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