Trauma Research Center
Department of Surgery
James "Red" Duke, MD

Red Duke Professorship Day

  


James H. "Red" Duke, MDJames Henry "Red" Duke, Jr. was born and raised in Central Texas with strong Southern Baptist traditions and the accompanying work ethics. He attended secondary school, participated in athletics, ran five paper routes, sold magazine subscriptions, dug ditches, picked cotton, and was the purveyor of poultry in Hill County. At the same time, Red attained the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America - Eagle Scout. BSA later honored him with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

During his tenure as Chief of Trauma, Red Duke has established the first air ambulance service in Texas, made Hermann Hospital the first Level I Trauma Center in Southeast Texas, trained numerous residents and students, not to mention healed countless injured patients.

In 1997, Hermann Hospital merged with the Memorial Hospital System, becoming the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas. With this merger, the necessary infrastructure for an inclusive regional trauma care system became a reality. There are very few medical centers possessing such abundant resources and potential. Upon entering the new century, the opportunity to develop a model regional trauma system for Southeast Texas became an achievable reality. Our overriding goal has
been and will continue to be providing the highest quality, cost- effective patient care possible. However, it is also our responsibility to forge new knowledge through research, to educate care givers at all levels, and to promote initiatives that prevent injuries and thus save lives. It is the intent and purpose of the James H. "Red" Duke Professorship in Trauma to contribute to each of these activities as opportunities arise.

For more information concerning the Professorship, please call 713-222-CARE (2273).

Whether you call him friend, doctor, mentor, or leader, we are all blessed by his omnipresence, omniscience, and affability. It is to this man that we dedicate this day."