Endowed Professorship Honors Dr. John "Jack" Rose | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Rich Klindworth, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

    The director of research for the East Carolina Heart Institute is going to have a special title in honor of a cardiologist and professor who has not only changed the lives of many eastern North Carolinians, but also people around the world. The director will be known as the John 'Jack' Rose Distinguished Professor.

    "A distinguished professorship is the highest honor to be bestowed on somebody," said Dr. Mark Iannettoni, who is interim chair for the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. He expects the first recipient to be named to the professorship this fall. The East Carolina Heart Institute (ECHI) is a partnership between Brody, Vidant Medical Center and private physicians to advance education, research, treatment and prevention related to cardiovascular diseases.

    "It's an amazing honor for me," said Dr. Jack Rose. "There are a lot of people, though, who equally could have received this honor, and really it's not just for me, but for all of the people who have taken care of patients and have taught at this institution."

    Rose has been a physician for nearly 50 years. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1968 then received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. He eventually accepted a cardiology fellowship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Rose started working with patients at the former Pitt County Memorial Hospital [now Vidant Medical Center] in 1982. During that time, he also taught physician residents at the hospital, eventually joining Brody as a professor in 1990.

    "I think what I really respect about Jack is that he is so humble and so dedicated to any patient, any student and any colleague at any time," said Iannettoni.

    "He is a master teacher and a master team builder," said Donna Lou Edwards, the nurse manager of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at ECHI. She said no matter what role someone plays on the patient care team, Rose considers their ideas.

    Edwards and others who work with him said that Rose is a humble and kind gentleman who is dedicated to getting the correct diagnosis for his patients. Rose is also well known for his attention to detail and bedside manner.

    "He is a doctor's doctor," Edwards said. "He has a regimen and he will never deter from it; he will not take a short cut. That's why patients get excellent care and evaluation from him."

    One of Rose's passions is traveling to Nicaragua to provide treatment of rheumatic and congenital heart disease. He started making the trips in the 1980s and has made about two per year since 2001.

    "He has done tremendous work bringing hope to patients who wouldn't be alive if it weren't for his hard work and persistence," says Dr. Carols Espinoza, a fellow in interventional cardiology at Vidant Medical Center.

    A native of Nicaragua, Espinoza first met Rose on one such trip in 2001. He said from the moment they first worked together, Rose inspired him.

    "I was really impressed with the way that he'd treat each patient with so much respect and dignity - the way that he approached each of them, the way that he examined them - he was so thorough examining each patient," Espinoza said.

    Rose's most recent trip to Nicaragua, in February, ended with him being medically evacuated to Florida after being hit by a motorcycle.

    "It was very unnerving that morning, we were getting ready to start clinic and excited about having a new team of physicians... then we hear that our main soldier is down," Edwards said.

    "I'm doing better, I'm not normal yet, but I'm getting better," Rose said.



    "We are just pleased with the miracles that we receive. We feel like we received one," Edwards added.

    Rose hopes to go back to Nicaragua in February 2017 - though he'd like to go sooner.

    "If there's any way he can get back there, that's where he wants to be," said Jane Rose, Jack's wife of nearly 47 years.

    Rose has not been able to get back to teaching just yet, however he has given a couple of guest lectures this fall semester. He said he could get back into part-time teaching beginning in January 2017.

    The professorship was established about 10 years ago with funds from the Vidant Medical Foundation and matching state funds. The endowment will pay about $64 thousand annually for the ECHI research director's research expenses, research personnel, travel, equipment and supplies.

    "When you reflect back over the career that Dr. Rose has had, it's just obvious that he embodies the characteristics and traits for which this distinguished professorship was envisioned 10 years ago," said Vidant Medical Center President Brian Floyd.


From left to right, Dr. Carlos Espinoza, Dr. Elizabeth G. Baxley, Brian Floyd, Dr. Jack Rose, Dr. Mark Iannettoni, Dr. Phyllis N. Horns, and Dr. Michael Waldrum.
    "[The person named to this professorship] has to have Dr. Rose's ideals and sort of passion for teaching that we're looking for," Iannettoni said.

    Eastern North Carolina's population has one of the highest rates of advanced cardiovascular disease in the nation. The ECHI was founded on the premise that collaboration between clinical medicine and scientific research is the best way to ensure patients receive the most advanced care possible.

    "It's just truly an honor and a wonderful thing to have been here all this time and to watch what's happened and to be able to participate to a little degree in it," Rose said.