David B. Skinner, MD Papers

David B. Skinner was born on April 28, 1935, in Joliet, Illinois. He grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he graduated from high school in 1952. He received his B.A. from the University of Rochester in 1956 and his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine in 1959. He completed his internship and surgical residency in the areas of general and thoracic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He then completed a surgical residency at Harvard Medical School in 1965, having served there as Chief Resident and Teaching Fellow. In 1963, while serving as Senior Registrar in Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery under Dr. Ronald Belsey at the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, England, Dr. Skinner laid the foundation for his lifelong interest in diseases of the esophagus, which was the major focus of his clinical and scientific work. After completing his surgical training, he spent two years at the Air Force teaching hospital in San Antonio, Texas, where he developed a new cardiac assist device. In 1968, Dr. Skinner joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Medical School where he applied his skills as a surgeon, scientist, and teacher. He quickly rose from the rank of Assistant to full Professor within only four years.

In 1972, Dr. Skinner moved to Chicago, Illinois, to accept a position as the Dallas B. Phemister Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago. While at the University of Chicago, Dr. Skinner rebuilt the department of surgery in the areas of clinical surgery, research, and teaching. He recruited new, young faculty members and revitalized the residency training program. He was responsible for a new building that included surgical operating rooms, research laboratories, and offices in the same setting; this allowed for the simultaneous functions of clinical care and academic endeavors to occur. Dr. Skinner was regarded as both a mentor and a friend, inspiring researchers and students to pursue surgery with excellence as an area of lifelong study. As result of Dr. Skinner's influence, at least fourteen former students have served as chairs of surgical departments throughout the United States.

In 1987, Dr. Skinner accepted the position of President and CEO of the New York Hospital. At the time of his arrival, Dr. Skinner estimated that the medical center was losing one million dollars weekly due to managed care and lower reimbursement rates. Dr. Skinner's strategy for reversing the loss trend was to implement cost-cutting measures, reductions in hospital length of stay, and improvements in efficiency, thereby returning the hospital to profitability. At the same time, he greatly improved morale by personally meeting with each shift of the hospital staff to address their concerns. He then began an initiative to create New York City's first major network of health care institutions in order to meet the growing economic challenges from managed health care and declining reimbursements. He further undertook the challenge of replacing the aging New York Hospital patient tower with a new state of the art hospital to be built on a massive platform over the East Side FDR Drive. The 850,000 square foot Greenberg Pavilion opened in 1997. That same year, Dr. Skinner presided over the merger of the New York Hospital with Presbyterian Hospital to form NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the largest academic medical center in the United States. Dr. Skinner then served as Vice-Chairman and CEO of the merged hospital and the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System, a network of more than 32 hospitals and health care institutions with combined revenues exceeding $2.5 billion. As one of the foremost leaders in American healthcare, Dr. Skinner devoted his efforts to preserve and protect the academic health center for the benefit of patient care, teaching, and research.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Skinner maintained an active surgical practice and continued to teach surgical skills to residents. He attracted the most challenging and complex esophageal cases and handled them with ease. His kindness and caring as a physician remained foremost, even as he became more involved with the executive functions of medicine.

As his medical career progressed, Dr. Skinner was a member of over 43 national and international medical associations and societies. He also served as a board member of several medical associations and committees, including the United States President's Biomedical Research Panel of 1975-76.

Dr. Skinner died in New York City on January 24, 2003, one day after suffering a massive cerebral hemorrhage. He was 67 years old. He was survived by his wife of 46 years, May Elinor (Ellie) Tischer, four daughters (Dr. Linda Callans, Dr. Kristin Skinner, Dr. Margaret Skinner, and Carise Rowley), and four grandchildren.