News

Beebe Medical Center Names Wing after Dr. James P. Marvel Jr.

11/24/09

"Orthopaedic surgeon James P. Marvel Jr., MD, had a broad smile on his face during the recent dedication ceremony when Jeffrey M. Fried, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center, announced that the seven other orthopaedic surgeons on the Beebe Medical Staff wanted the newly remodeled Orthopaedic Wing to be named after Dr. Marvel.

Dr. Marvel is the father of our Orthopaedic program, Mr. Fried told the more than 120 friends, family members, patients, former patients, Beebe staff members and officials attending the dedication of the James P. Marvel Jr. MD Wing. We are proud of our surgeons, and there is no greater tribute to Dr. Marvel than being recognized by his peers.

The remodeled wing, located on the third floor of the hospital, includes 29 patient rooms and a dedicated area for patients who have had joint replacement surgery. All staff members who work on the wing are specially trained and educated in the care of orthopaedic patients.

During the dedication Janet McCarthy, Chair of the Beebe Medical Center Board of Trustees, said that the recognition by Dr. Marvel's fellow surgeons was a great testimony to Dr. Marvel and that she was delighted to see so many people here.

Dr. Marvel joined Beebe Medical Center in 1980 as its first orthopaedic surgeon. Today Beebe Medical Center has eight surgeons, and over the past four years has been named by HealthGrades as a top orthopaedic program. For 2010, HealthGrades has ranked Beebe Medical Center among the Top 5% of all hospitals in the nation. HealthGrades said that Beebe Medical Center is the only hospital in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia to receive 5-star ratings for all orthopedic procedures measured by HealthGrades.

Dr. Marvel has a private practice in Lewes, serves as the Trauma Medical Director for Beebe Medical Center and was recently appointed to the Beebe Medical Center Board of Trustees. He also is active in the Medical Society of Delaware and serves on the Board of the Medical Society Insurance Subsidiary and as Chairman of the Delaware Medical Education Foundation.

Dr. Marvel set the standard for this hospital and all the surgeons here are in his debt, Lewes orthopaedic surgeon and keynote speaker John E. Spieker, MD, said during the dedication. Dr. Marvel brought Dr. Spieker to Beebe Medical Center in 1988. I came because of his national reputation, he added, sharing some details of Dr. Marvel's impressive career with the audience.

Dr. Marvel, a grandson of James Beebe, one of the Medical Center's co-founders, was accomplished early in his career. After earning his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1962, he interned at Memorial Hospital in Wilmington and started a residency in orthopaedic surgery at Jefferson. His residency was interrupted when he joined the U.S. Army where he served as an orthopaedic surgeon at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and as an orthopaedic trauma surgeon in Viet Nam. He then completed his residency at Jefferson and practiced with the Dr. Anthony F. DePalma, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. For 10 years before coming to Beebe Medical Center he was associated with Dr. Richard Rothman at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, which was affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania for the residency program.

Since he joined Beebe Medical Center he has served as Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery. He has been Trauma Medical Director since 1999, during which time Beebe Medical Center has gone through three re-verification visits by the American College of Surgeons with trauma verification being approved at a Level III Trauma Center. He served on the Blue Ribbon Commission for Mal-Practice Insurance when there was no viable mal-practice insurance carrier in Delaware. He served twice as the President of the Medical Society of Delaware and served as a Delegate to the American Medical Association from the Medical Society of Delaware.

State Representative Pete Schwartzkopf also spoke during the dedication, and read the official tributes from the Delaware House and from the Delaware Senate. Stephen R. Permut, MD, JD, Professor & Chair, Department of Family & Community Medicine, and Associate Dean of Academic Affiliations at Temple University School of Medicine, read the official tribute to Dr. Marvel from the Medical Society of Delaware.

Following the speeches, Dr. Marvel took the microphone, thanked everyone, smiled and said, It's better to have something named in your honor than in your memory.

Photographs:
Caption: All Beebe Medical Center orthopaedic surgeons attended the dedication. Left to right: Dr. Wilson Choy, Dr. Paul Harriott, Dr. Mark Boytim, Dr. John Spieker, Dr. James Marvel, Dr. Ronald Sabbagh, Dr. Edmund Carroll, and Dr. David Sopa.

Caption: Dr. Marvel was joined at the dedication by his wife Patty Marvel

Caption: Dr. Stephen Permut, representing the Medical Society of Delaware, congratulated Dr. Marvel.

Caption: Marie Berntsen, Director of Orthopaedic Services, and Dr. John Spieker, reveal the copy of the plaque that hangs in the James P. Marvel Jr. MD Wing.

Caption: Delaware State Representative Pete Schwartzkopf congratulates Dr. Marvel and shares tributes from the State Senate and the State House of Representatives

Caption: Dr. James Beebe Jr. joined Dr. Marvel at the celebration.

Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org


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