Interview with John P. Delaney

Abstract

Dr. John Delaney begins by describing his education at Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota. He discusses his perception Harold S. Diehl as Dean of the Medical School, C. Walton Lillehei’s surgical innovations, and Dr. Owen Wangensteen’s tenure as chief of surgery during Delaney’s time in the medical school. He also describes University Hospital administrator Ray Amberg and his assistant Gertrude Gilman. He discusses the changing fee system in hospitals in the mid 1960s. Delaney describes the cardiac program at the University of Minnesota in the 1950s and 1960s. He discusses his early research interest in bleeding from the stomach and his clinical specialization in gastrointestinal surgery. He describes changes in the Department of Surgery when John Najarian took over for Owen Wangensteen as chief. He recounts his experiences with Robert Howard as dean of the medical colleges, particularly his role in the faculty practice plan. He also discusses surgical nurses and the increasing emphasis on patient satisfaction with hospital care to receive full reimbursement for services. Delaney discusses the reorganization of the health sciences at the University of Minnesota, town/gown issues with Twin Cities practitioners, and competing medical school plans in Saint Paul and at Saint Thomas. He also discusses his later focus on surgical oncology and working with B.J. Kennedy and Seymour Levitt. Finally, he describes the ALG scandal.