Dedication Program
The C. Everett Koop Surgical Center
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
January 30, 1975
Presiding
Charles E. Ingersoll
President, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Welcome
Jean A. Cortner, M.D.
Physician-in-Chief, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
William H. Bennett Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, 
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Guest Speakers
Hugh B. Lynn, M.D.
Professor of Surgery, University of Alabama
Harvey E. Beardmore, M.D.
Associate Professor of Surgery, McGill University
President, American Pediatric Surgical Association
Jonathan E. Rhoads, M.D.
Emeritus John Rhea Barton Professor of Surgery, Emeritus Chairman of the Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Closing Remarks
Richard D. Wood
Chairman, Board of Managers, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
"To C. Everett Koop, surgeon-in-chief, for his special concern for children, his unique endowments as medical educator, and his reverence for humanity, this Surgical Center is dedicated in respect and admiration." Richard D. Wood
C. Everett Koop, M.D.
C. Everett Koop, surgeon-in-chief of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and its first full-time pediatric surgeon beginning in 1948, holds the rank of professor of pediatric surgery in the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
His accomplishments have many facets. A pioneer in the development of newborn surgery, and an innovator and perfector of new techniques in this exacting area, Dr. Koop has also acted to develop one of the most comprehensive pediatric surgical groups in the nation, covering all the surgical subspecialties. Dr. Koop's vision served to inspire creation of the first neonatal surgical intensive care unit in the United States, a service which has contributed significantly to reduction of the formidable mortality rates which prevailed up to the end of the 1950's. This service he subsequently expanded to embrace critically ill children of the entire pediatric age group. His contributions to increasing the survival rate of children with cancer have brought him into ever more fruitful collaboration with other disciplines.
He was one of the prime movers in the creation of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, the only publication in English devoted exclusively to the surgical problems of childhood. His training of specialists in pediatric surgery demonstrates solid accomplishment: of the thirty-nine residents trained thus far by Dr. Koop, 75 percent are established as professors of pediatric surgery, chiefs of divisions
of pediatric surgery in the surgical departments of medical schools, and surgeons-in-chief of children's hospitals. A very large number of fellows, affiliating residents, and short-term visitors from abroad and throughout the United States have returned home inspired to provide surgical care for children commensurate with the highest standards for adult surgery. Through his teachings, demonstrations,
and lectures to specialists and nonspecialists alike, Dr. Koop has helped to raise the standard of surgical care for children throughout the nation and many parts of the world. Complementing his teaching record, Dr. Koop has contributed more than 130 articles to the scientific literature.
Dr. Koop serves as a consultant to the Devereux Foundation in Devon, Pennsylvania, the U. S. Naval Hospital of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania Hospital. He held the position of chairman of the Committee of the Section on Surgery of the American Academy of Pediatrics for a number of years, was a member of the Council of the British Association of Pediatric Surgeons, and served as president of the American Pediatric Surgical Association In 1971-72. He enjoyed long tenure as president of the active staff of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and as president of the Executive Committee of the Hospital's Medical Staff.
He has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery since 1964, a member of the editorial board of the Zeitschrift fur Kinderchirurgie und Grenzgebiete, and editorial consultant to the Japanese Journal of Pediatric Surgery and Medicine.
Dr. Koop is a member of the American Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, the American Pediatric Surgical Association, and other professional societies, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics. His international interests are reflected in his membership in the British Association of Pediatric Surgeons, the Pan American
Medical Association, the International Society of Surgery, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Kinderchirurgie.
Dr. Koop, who was born in New York in 1916, was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1937 and received his M.D. degree from Cornell Medical College in 1941. After serving an internship at Pennsylvania Hospital, he pursued postgraduate training in the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, and the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the degree of Doctor of Science (Medicine)
in 1947. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery, and is also a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He was named assistant professor of surgery in the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1949, associate professor in 1952, and professor of pediatric surgery in the School of Medicine in 1959 and the Graduate School of Medicine in 1960.
Dr. Koop has been the recipient of many honors and awards, including an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Eastern Baptist College, an honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Liverpool, the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Wheaton College, and the Denis Brown Gold Medal, the United Kingdom's highest award in pediatric surgery.
It is a measure of the affection and regard in which Dr. Koop is held that more than four hundred grateful parents, colleagues, and friends have contributed to the C. Everett Koop Surgical Center which is dedicated today, the thirtieth of January, 1975.