2005 Ron W. Lee, M.D.
Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards
Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children
is a collaborative program between the
Illinois Department of Public Health and
Loyola University Medical Center
www.luhs.org/emsc
May 11, 2005
2005 Ron W. Lee, MD - Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards
On May 19th, the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois Emergency Medical Services for
Children presented the following recipients with the 2005 Ron W. Lee, MD, Excellence in Pediatric Care
Awards.
These awards are given in recognition of excellence to those dedicated to pediatric care and childhood injury
prevention initiatives. The awards are presented each May during Emergency Medical Services Week. Dr.
Lee was the Director of Emergency Medicine at Loyola University Medical Center and was instrumental in
establishing and fostering the EMSC program in Illinois. He passed away in 1998. Individuals or
organizations can be nominated for one of the following three award categories – Lifetime Achievement,
Clinical Excellence and Community Service. Nominations for the awards were received from throughout
the state.
Lifetime Achievement

Edward A. Millar, MD Emeritus Chief of Staff, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago. Since
1946, Dr. Millar has dedicated his life to Shriners Hospitals for Children, beginning as a resident
physician, then as an orthopedic specialist physician, and finally as Chief of Staff of the hospital.
He advocated for the development of many of the practice areas in which Shriners is now noted as a
leader, including osteogenesis imperfecta, hip dysplasia, cerebral palsy, cleft lip and palate, spinal
surgery and spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Over the years, he has championed and conducted
significant research initiatives, written numerous publications and taught many medical students
and residents. A testament to Dr. Millar is seen in how his patients continue to visit him long after
their completion of care, and offer their services and support to Shriners Hospitals. In fact, several
of his former patients are now successful physicians, due to his encouragement and example. Dr.
Millar has been instrumental in changing the way in which the entire Shrine system cares for
children. In the 1970’s, Dr. Millar championed a family-centered care model and facilitated the
incorporation of child-friendly features into Shriners Hospitals. He was also one of the founding
members of the Silver Service, a foundation that provides orthopedic surgeries twice a year to
children abroad, in countries such as Columbia, Lithuania and Jordan. As a nationally recognized
expert on osteogenesis imperfecta, cerebral palsy and general pediatric orthopedics, he recently
created a Museum of Radiology for the education of young physicians, using thousands of
historical x-rays culled from Shriners’ files. This databank of x-ray files provides medical
personnel with the opportunity to examine deformities that are now so rare they might not
otherwise be recognized. And at 85 years of age, Dr. Millar continues his service to children at
Shriners and reminds his fellow physicians of their responsibilities to children in need.

Rick Miller, MD, FACEP, FAAP, EMS Medical Director, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center,
Peoria. Over the past 31 years, Dr. Miller has been an active physician with OSF Saint Francis
Medical Center and has served in
many roles, including Chairman for
the Department of Emergency
Medicine, Medical Director of
Emergency
Medical
Services,
Medical Director for the Life Flight
program and Program Director for
the
Emergency
Residency
Program. Dr. Miller has devoted
both his professional and personal life advocating for children. He encourages his colleagues to
always strive for the very best care for children. In the late 1980’s, as the only physician with dual
board certification in both emergency medicine and pediatrics, he spearheaded the formation of a
Pediatric Emergency Department at Saint Francis Medical Center. In 1984, as the flight program
was initiated at Saint Francis, he served as program medical director. At that time, he set out to
educate hospitals within central Illinois on appropriate care of children and adults prior to the arrival
of the flight team and interfacility transport. Over the years he has lectured extensively both locally
and nationally on pediatric emergency care topics, childhood trauma, childhood and adolescent
suicide, and child abuse and neglect issues. Dr. Miller’s special interest in abused and neglected
children led to his spearheading the development of specific procedures in the Emergency
Department to ensure that potential child abuse cases did not go unreported. And as child car seat
safety legislation was introduced, he was in the forefront, providing community presentations
regarding the importance of child safety restraints. Dr. Miller currently serves on numerous
community and state programs, including the Child Death Review Team in Central Illinois, Prevent
Child Abuse Illinois, the Peoria Chapter of the American Red Cross and as Medical Director for the
Peoria Medical Reserve Corps, among others. Several years ago, he began volunteering two weeks
annually as a member of a medical mission team in Haiti, ultimately developing a program in
which Emergency Medicine residents volunteer at the Haiti medical clinic and receive medical
education credit through the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
Clinical Excellence

Lawrence Vogel, MD, FAAP, Chief of Pediatrics and Medical Director, Spinal Cord Injury
Program, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago. Dr. Vogel has been the Chief of Pediatrics at
Shriners since 1981 and the Medical Director of the Spinal Cord Injury program since its inception
in 1983. During this time, he has become well recognized as an expert and strong advocate in the
provision of developmentally appropriate care to children and adolescents with spinal cord injuries.
He trains residents in Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Pediatrics and provides shadowing
opportunities in his practice for innumerable high school and college students. Dr. Vogel currently
serves on the Board of Directors for the American Paraplegia Society and the American Spinal
Injury Association (the two major national organizations focused on spinal cord injury), as well as
on a number of local and state professional organizational boards and committees. He also serves
on the editorial board of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, and has authored 12 book chapters
and more than 60 articles in professional journals. On the international front, Dr. Vogel has chaired
two international conferences on pediatric spinal cord injury and assisted in organizing several
others. For over a decade, Dr. Vogel has led research initiatives studying the long-term outcomes of
adults who sustained spinal cord injuries as children or adolescents, in order to improve
rehabilitation for future children and adolescents with these types of injuries. This work led to the
development of an innovative Transition to Adulthood Program in 1998, which Dr. Vogel
spearheaded and co-directs. Over the past eight years, this program has funded seminars, mentors
and a summer work program for adolescents with disabilities, in order to help these young people
prepare their transition to productive and satisfying adult lives. His colleagues note his dedication
as a pediatrician, educator and researcher who cares for his patients and their families with the
utmost compassion, sensitivity and commitment.
Community Service

The Shrine Fraternity, Shriners Hospitals for Children. In 1919, the Shrine Fraternity began to
marshal their financial, business and human resources to provide care to the many children who
were touched by polio and infections of the bone. Since then, the fraternity has built and now
operates 22 hospitals across North America with all funds for the hospitals being donated or
raised by the fraternity. The fraternity is made up entirely of volunteers who raise funds for the
hospital and assist in other countless ways. The Boards of Governors of the hospitals and the
associate boards are entirely composed of Shriner volunteers who lend their professional
expertise to the operation of the facilities. In addition, Shriner Fraternity volunteers provide
transportation for patients and their families to the hospital, usually in vans and busses
purchased and adapted specifically for this use. They also serve as volunteers in the hospitals,
providing a variety of services. All Shriners Hospitals provide excellent medical care to
patients under the age of 18 at no charge. Treatment measures serve all areas of orthopedic
surgery, plastic and reconstructive craniofacial surgery, spinal cord injury rehabilitation and
burns. Over the past 80 years, Shriners Hospitals have treated nearly 800,000 patients from the
United States, Canada and Mexico. The Chicago facility alone has treated nearly 57,000
patients. The affection and loyalty shown by current and former Shriner patients serve as a
heartfelt tribute to this organization.