Serving others had been a lifetime calling for Jacksonville, Florida orthopedic surgeon, George M. Fipp, and Haiti topped his list of medical mission and philanthropic work. His first mission trip to Haiti, in 1982, cemented his love for the country and her people. Brimming with enthusiasm and dedication, Dr. Fipp soon inspired others in Jacksonville to follow his lead. For almost 25 years, Dr. Fipp and his recruits, traveled to Hôpital Sacré Coeur to perform life-saving surgeries and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding and supplies for the hospital. After his untimely death in 2006, Fipp’s relentless compassion continues to inspire people in Jacksonville and beyond to devote their time, talents and treasures to HSC.
Jacksonville orthopedic surgeon, Dr. John Lovejoy, Jr., was one of Dr. Fipp’s first recruits. Now, Dr. Lovejoy organizes three to four medical teams a year and continues to expand the hospital’s capabilities by providing instruments and education. “George was my best friend and when he died I felt compelled to carry on his work, “Lovejoy explains.
When the earthquake struck, all the years of Dr. Fipp’s involvement, in medical education and equipping of the orthopedics department, quickly showed itself as a true saving grace. Dr. Lovejoy and his son, Dr. John Lovejoy, III, a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, and their teams became pivotal players in the treatment of the many crush injuries presented by HSC patients. The Jacksonville community did not stop there.
They quickly saw the challenges that Haitian amputees would face and they answered that need by fabricating and donating to the hospital, one of the first Prosthetics Laboratories in Haiti.
“George seldom saw a problem he could not solve in one way or another, and his innovation was inspiring to the residents who worked with him. He is remembered as a truly unselfish, kind, gentle, firm when necessary and respected teacher,” notes Lovejoy. George’s wonderful, supporting wife, Betty, and their five daughters also joined in supporting the CRUDEM mission. One daughter, Carol, not only served on the CRUDEM Board of Directors, but gave a year of her life to CRUDEM to assist with the earthquake response.
“George is one of those lovable people who you could never say no to,” recalls Lovejoy. “He had the ability to make everyone feel important and worthwhile. During our visits he always brought a resident as he would tell them, you will never see anything like this except in a textbook!
His smile was infectious and he always had his Notre Dame hat on, as he was raised right down the road from the school and his father was a doctor and took him to all the games.”
Tales of Dr. Fipp’s work still circulate and generate awe in Milot. Once during Dr. Fipp’s visit to HSC, a patient appeared with gangrene of the leg from a sore caused by elephantiasis. It smelled so bad that they would not admit him to the ward. Dr. Fipp arranged a bed in the outside walkway and amputated the leg the next day. Another patient presented with a fractured femur that needed rodding. As Lovejoy remembers, “The resident said we could not do that because we had no X-ray. George proceeded to open the fracture, place the rod in it and out thru the hip, reduce the fracture, and push the rod back through, it stabilizing the fracture with no X-ray. Needless to say the resident was spellbound.”
When anyone tallies up the medical, educational, financial and compassion support offered and inspired by Dr. George Fipp; spellbound is the likely response!
