Philip Zieve, Former Director of the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Dies at 84

To the Johns Hopkins Medicine community

Dear Colleagues,

It is with immense sadness that we inform you of the death of Philip D. Zieve, professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and former director of the Department of Medicine, vice president of medical affairs and chief of the professional medical staff at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He was 84. Though Phil achieved many outstanding milestones in his more than 50-year career here, his legacy will be helping to turn around the ailing Baltimore City Hospitals (BCH) to its present-day success as Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Phil arrived at BCH in 1956 as a medical student from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and did his rotations in obstetrics and chronic medicine. In 1964, he joined the BCH staff and became an internationally recognized hematologist. Less than 10 years later, Phil helped to found Chesapeake Physicians Professional Association (CPPA), which became a national model for faculty practice plans in academic medical centers.

Phil was an influential leader and esteemed physician. He played a key role in advancing clinical, research and educational programs, and the physical redevelopment of what is today Johns Hopkins Bayview. By 1980, Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer was exploring a process for enabling the city to divest its time-honored responsibility for the ownership and management of the public hospital. Phil, along with long-standing colleague Chester Schmidt, president of the CPPA, fervently persuaded Robert Heyssel, then the president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, that Johns Hopkins should become actively involved in the future of BCH. In 1982, under a contract with the city, Johns Hopkins assumed management of BCH. Only two years later, in 1984, Johns Hopkins acquired BCH and renamed it the Francis Scott Key Medical Center. In many respects, Phil gets the credit for bequeathing BCH to Johns Hopkins.

His vision, perseverance and dedication made him a great teacher. Phil trained many leaders in medicine, some of whom have assumed prominent roles within Johns Hopkins Medicine, including Richard Bennett, president of Johns Hopkins Bayview; Roy Ziegelstein, vice dean for education for the school of medicine; Nisha Chandra-Strobos, chief of cardiology for Johns Hopkins Bayview; and Steven Kravet, president of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians.

Phil graduated from Baltimore City College, a public high school, in 1950, and from Franklin & Marshall College in 1954, where he received his A.B. In 1958, he graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He came to BCH as a resident that same year. From 1964 to 1973, Phil was chief of the Division of Hematology at BCH. In 1973, he was named director of the Department of Medicine. In 1997, he became vice president of medical affairs, a position he held until 2003. Until several years ago, Phil was a physician adviser for the Institutional Review Board at Johns Hopkins Bayview, where he provided sound counsel and advice. He was also part of the first board of trustees in 1984 and remained trustee emeritus until the time of his death.

Phil was an extraordinary researcher, publishing more than 100 professional books, journal articles, book chapters and abstracts. Most noteworthy, he published seminal research in the 1960s with Johns Hopkins hematology legend C. Lockard Conley. Because of Phil's decades of service to the medical center and for advancing patient care, the medical service at Johns Hopkins Bayview is named in his honor.

Phil was a lifelong traveler, visiting every corner of the globe. His home is filled with artifacts and textiles from his many travels. His greatest treasure—his family—was the center of his life. We extend our deepest condolences to Phil's wife, Elaine Zieve (nee Wishnie); his daughters, Melissa, Karyn and Allison; and his nine grandchildren.

A memorial service for Phil will be planned in the coming months, to be held at Johns Hopkins Bayview. In memory and honor of Phil, donations may be sent to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Development Office, 5200 Eastern Ave., MFL Center Tower, Suite 359, Baltimore, MD 21224.

Sincerely,

Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine