By Caperton Gillett
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Beatrice Lampkin
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Beatrice Lampkin, M.D., got an early—and intense—
introduction to the field of medicine. Stricken with polio at age seven, she spent three weeks quarantined at her Tuscaloosa home and underwent multiple treatments at Warm Springs, Georgia. While other young patients might try to avoid hospitals entirely after such an experience, Lampkin was inspired to emulate the doctors who treated her. “It has certainly been something that has made me more empathetic and sympathetic when the children are sick,” she says.
Now a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and professor emerita at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Lampkin received her M.D. in 1960 from the Medical College of Alabama.
A Pioneering Student
Lampkin’s choice of medical schools was somewhat hampered by the crutches that she used after her recovery from polio; she didn’t apply to any other medical school for fear she wouldn’t be accepted. Both her disability and her gender were unusual in the male-dominated halls, she says. “Walking with crutches in any medical school was rare then,” she says. “And being a lady, it was even more rare.”
Lampkin moved on after graduation to a residency at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, where she met Alvin Mauer, M.D., a specialist who piqued her interest in pediatric hematology and oncology. “He was teaching us, letting us look at blood smears and marrows at the time I was a resident,” she says. She moved to Los Angeles for her fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles but returned to Cincinnati in 1965 as assistant attending physician and senior research associate in the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics. In 1973 she became director of the division.
Although she officially retired from that post in 1991, Lampkin remains active both in health care and in the wider Cincinnati community. She continues to teach fellows in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “I don’t want to know the definition of ‘retired,’” she says. “I like what I do. I like teaching what I call my ‘kids,’ and it’s fun.”
Caring for Her Community
What free time she has is largely dedicated to GLAD (Giving Life a Dream) House, an initiative she helped found that offers counseling and support for children of alcoholic and drug-addicted mothers. Now in its 11th year, GLAD House aims to help children avoid substance abuse, mental illness, violence, and dropping out of school with after-school and summer programs through age 12; it also provides long-term support and reinforcement programs for these children until age 18 or graduation from school.
“We have had 10 children—now 18 years old—who started with our program and who have graduated from high school,” Lampkin says. “Nine of 10 are going to college, and one is going to an arts and media school for further education.
“In terms of where these children started, they were from very dysfunctional families, with a mother who was addicted to substances, and they were having to fend for themselves. Those are the ones of whom I’m proud.”
Her hard work has earned her such honors as the Drake Medal, the highest award given by the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; the Oscar Schmidt Community Service Award from the University of Cincinnati; inaugural membership in the University of Cincinnati Cancer Hall of Fame; membership in the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame; the Distinguished Career Award from the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology; National Board Citation from the Medical College of Pennsylvania; and the Outstanding Woman of the Year in Medicine award for 1976. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has two endowed chairs named in her honor. And while she’s flattered by the recognition, she takes it all in stride.
“I’m just happy to have been here and to be able to do as much as I can,” Lampkin says. “And I’m also appreciative of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I never would have gotten started if it hadn’t been for them.”