Dr. Jack Nevins - In Memoriam
June 18, 1913 - August 24, 2007
It is with deep sorrow and the utmost of respect that the DRMC Medical Staff shares the news of the passing of one of its longest practicing appointees and the most Emeritus member of the Department of Surgery. John W. "Jack" Nevins, MD, FACS, passed away on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at Desert Regional Medical Center, his "home away from home."
Dr. Nevins graduated New York Medical College in 1944 and served his Internship and Residency in General Surgery at New York Medical College from 1944 to 1953. He arrived to Desert Hospital as a Member of the Department of Surgery on May 16, 1955 and was inducted into the Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons in 1962.
Over the years, Dr. Nevins gave his time to countless Hospital Committees, both as Member and as Chairman, and served as President of the Desert Hospital Medical Staff during the years 1962 until 1964. He organized and attended endless CME sessions, probably more than anyone else, in the history of Desert Hospital.
Dr. Nevins promoted quality of patient care and demanded excellence in Surgery at Desert Hospital while performing thousands upon thousands of cases (sometimes under the toughest of conditions) in a career lasting more than five decades spanning over two centuries and crossing two millennia. He always stood ready and responded to the call for assistance in the Operating Rooms of Desert Hospital whenever asked by his colleagues, be it day or night.
Dr. Nevins shared not only his wealth of Medical knowledge and experience with his physician colleagues and patients, but also unselfishly and so generously shared the hard earned fruit of his professional success with so many public organizations and private charities.
Having been, for one and for all of us who has crossed his path in life, an unparalleled inspiration by his examples of hard work, incessant dedication and professional success to a level achieved by so few and respected by so many, Dr. Nevins will long be remembered as "the Surgeon's Surgeon," a role model to be iconicized and a mentor for those who can only strive to follow in his footsteps.
A Desert Hospital pioneer who dedicated himself and his lifetime entirely to Surgery, Dr. "Jack" Nevins practiced the art of medicine and surgery "the way it was meant to be."
