JAMES ANDERSON VAUGHN MD

James Anderson Vaughn, MD, our loving husband, father, grandfather and Lion of Medicine left us on May 14, 2017 to join his loving wife Phyllis Ann Vaughn MD after a valiant battle with pneumonia. He was a man whose passion for medicine and healing found a kindred spirit in his physician wife who helped him to pursue his dreams. His work led to eclectic adventures including: delivering president Eisenhower's second granddaughter at West Point, treating Bill Haast for 29 cobra bites, and being a founding father of South Miami Hospital. His vision for the development of improved hospital care in South Miami spurred him to serve as the first Chief of Staff of South Miami Hospital where he admitted the first patient and went on to serve two additional times as Chief of Staff and 30 years on the hospital board- thus some styling him as the George Washington of South Miami Hospital. Dr. Vaughn's prescription for success was: love for medicine, love for patients, and love for colleagues.

Born June 11th, 1921 in Covington GA, his family moved to West Palm Beach, FL in 1934. As a child of the Great Depression, he developed a tireless mindset for getting things done. In 1941, he graduated from Emory University, a Chemistry major determined to pursue medicine. He entered medical school at University of Maryland where he met his future wife and fellow student, Phyllis Ann Peterson. During the outbreak of WII, all medical students were inducted into the army. In 1946, he graduated from University of Maryland Medical School, 6th in a class of 100. While completing his internship and residency at University of Maryland, he trained in anesthesia under Frederick Dye MD and participated in the university's first open heart surgeries.

From 1947-1948 he served as a physician at West Point, where he administered anesthesia and supervised the pathology laboratory. At West Point he was asked to provide anesthesia for the birth of Barbara Ann Eisenhower, the first granddaughter of President Eisenhower. In 1949, he presented his love with a red tourniquet shaped into a heart and a marriage proposal that she accepted. She joined him while he was stationed in Italy, where he served as a ranking staff officer at Trieste's major hospital as part of the reconstruction effort of war-torn Italy. Furloughs allowed trips through Italy and Europe that became an enchanting honeymoon filled with mystery, drama and romance. In 1950, they settled in South Miami and opened a medical practice partnership. By mornings at 6:00 AM he practiced anesthesia at Mercy, Variety and Doctor's Hospital, but by nights he cultivated his growing love for family practice in his office clinic, relishing the personal bond it required with patients.

After nine years of practice in 1959 in South Miami, a group of doctors met with Jim Lyons MD and planned to open South Miami Hospital electing him as first Chief of Staff. He loyally, tirelessly, and devotedly cultivated the development of this hospital in every way, serving as its chief in two other years, 1960 and 1976, and serving on its medical board for over 30 years.
In 2007, he became chairman of the Vaughn Jordan Foundation, actively overseeing philanthropic projects in horticulture and botanical sciences. As a trustee of The Vaughn Jordan Foundation, he provided relief to Homestead Hospital after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew and funded the creation of a meditation garden dedicated to nursing at South Miami Hospital in 2001.

He wrote the history of South Miami Hospital in A Pioneer Remembers, published in 2008, which highlights the hospital founding and the early adoption of new and innovative medical technologies. These technologies included: a hyperbaric chamber to treat wounds with crepitation in addition to decompression sickness in diving; the EMI Tomographic X-ray machine, a precursor of the CAT scan for brain imaging; and the Da Vinci Robotic surgical system first used in delicate prostate cancer surgeries.
Following are certain anecdotes from his practice he enjoyed retelling: He treated numerous cobra bites as the personal physician to Miami Serpentarium herpetologist Bill Haast, and a dramatic crisis from a Krait bite required putting Haast into an iron lung while Dr. Vaughn sourced anti-venom from Bombay, India. While in his care, they decided to use Haast's blood plasma as a repository for anti-venom treatments and registered its availability with Poison Control. He knew of six cases where Haast plasma units where used for venomous bites. He found that maintaining an anesthesiologist's doctor bag with oxygen and airway tubes was of great value for car accident victims and other emergencies. He found himself on the cruise ship Yarmouth Castle battling a mass illness feared to be an epidemic, which he proved was food poisoning enabling the ship to end quarantine.

Throughout all of this, Dr. Vaughn maintained a vibrant social life as a member of the Coral Gables Country Club and the Surf Club. Ever willing to make house calls, his motto was "have bag, will travel" which he practiced until the age of 83. His devotion to healing and tenacious pluck will be greatly missed by all of us. He is survived by his son, Dr. James P. Vaughn and his granddaughter, Victoria Vaughn. Funeral Service will be will take place at 1PM Sunday, May 21 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 3400 Devon Road, Coconut Grove FL. Visitation will be held from 3:00 to 5:00 PM Saturday, May 20 at Stanfill Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Baptist Health Foundation (https://foundation.baptistjax.com/make-a-gift) would be appreciated.