William A. Spencer M.D.

WILLIAM A. SPENCER, M.D. Feb. 16, 1922 - Feb. 18, 2009 Dr. William A. Spencer, often thought of as the "Father of Modern Rehabilitation" and a nationally recognized physician and researcher who founded The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) 50 years ago in the Texas Medical Center, passed away on February 18, 2009. Born in Oklahoma City, he graduated from Georgetown University and was first in his class at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore. In 1951, following his residency and fellowship in pediatrics at Hopkins and service in the US Army, he was recruited by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to lead a staff of clinicians to tackle the ravages of the polio epidemic on the youngest of patients. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Spencer established one of the first polio treatment centers in the nation. This facility known as The Southwestern Poliomyelitis Center was dedicated to patient treatment and performed groundbreaking advances in rehabilitation research. With the eventual discovery of the polio vaccine, the expertise developed by this nationally recognized respiratory center was applied to help rehabilitating catastrophically injured patients including those with brain and spinal cord injuries and related illnesses affecting mobility. A notable milestone in his career was his involvement in developing the physiograph, a device recognized in the March 1954 issue of LIFE magazine for its ability to record vital functions. This technology is credited as an early example of the sophisticated monitoring systems we use today such as the EKG machine. In 1959, Dr. Spencer became professor and Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine, a position he held until he retired. Dr. Spencer had another vision in the 1950's and that was to build a hospital both dedicated to caring for the physically disabled and to advancing research in rehabilitation techniques. Financial gifts from prominent philanthropists made it possible to build a not-for-profit hospital in the Texas Medical Center, just east of its medical school partner, Baylor College of Medicine. On May 30, 1959, The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) was formally dedicated and began accepting patients including those who could not afford the services. No one was ever turned away. Under his leadership, TIRR became a worldwide model for comprehensive medical rehabilitation programs considered both pioneering and innovative. Even today the hospital remains in the forefront of intensive care and research and has become part of the Memorial Hermann hospital system. In his lifetime, he served on presidential task forces related to the Americans with Disabilities Act and received countless honors and awards for his dedication to the physically disabled. Some of his achievements include being one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men" selected by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1954, "Physician of the Year" from the President's Commission on the Employment of Disabled Persons in 1964, acting director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, a federal agency dealing with the disabled that he spearheaded in 1979, and the American Hospital Association Award of Honor in 1993. In 1986, prior to his retirement, he created the TIRR Foundation to facilitate fundraising to benefit improvements in services and restorative care for those persons with insufficient financial resources and to fund research into better ways of helping people with severe physical disabilities achieve greater mobility, independent living and control of their own lives. Dr. Spencer strongly believed that people with even the most severe disabilities could regain a state of health, functional ability and dignity allowing them to return to active lives in their communities and to focus on their remaining abilities rather than their limitations. To this day the iconic image of Prometheus Unbound and the following quote by Dr. Spencer inspire those at TIRR to continue his visionary work: "Man uses the tiniest strengths for the greatest purposes." The family would like to thank those at Silverado Senior Living in Sugarland and the staff of Personal Physicians Group who made Dr. Spencer's final years both comfortable and peaceful. He is survived by his first wife, Helen Spencer of Leesburg Virginia, his daughter Susan Tully and her husband Chris Tully, grandchildren Rachel and Stephen Tully of Potomac Falls Virginia and his son Bill Spencer, Jr. and his wife Bonnie Oppermann of Honolulu Hawaii. He was predeceased by his second wife Jean Spencer in 2005. A Memorial Celebration service will be held Saturday, March 21st from 2-4pm at the IMM Building (Institute for Molecular Medicine) in the Texas Medical Center, 1825 Pressler St. Dr. Spencer's family requests that those desiring to honor him please do so by contributing to the TIRR Foundation, 4605 Post Oak Place, Suite 222, Houston, TX 77027, 713-877-0488.