Fort Worth M.D. School Receives First Endowed Chair
Terence McCarthy, M.D., named the John M. Geesbreght M.D., M.S., FACEP, Chair of Emergency Medicine at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas
FORT WORTH – The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine has received a generous gift to establish the John M. Geesbreght, M.D., M.S., FACEP, Endowed Chair of Emergency Medicine.
The gift comes from John Geesbreght, the former Director of Emergency Medicine at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, and his wife Priscilla. The endowment was announced during the Endowed Chairs and Professorships Dinner on February 19 at Texas Christian University.
Terence McCarthy, M.D., the academic chair for emergency medicine at the School of Medicine was named as the inaugural recipient.
“It’s a huge honor to hold a chair that’s named after him,” Dr. McCarthy said. “He’s an incredible leader and really inspirational.”
The endowment event is held in the spring semester of each academic year to recognize and honor donors who establish TCU’s endowed faculty positions as well as the holders of those positions. Endowed faculty positions are among the most prestigious and impactful types of investments a donor can make and are one of the most revered traditions of higher education.
“Dr. Geesbreght is known as a visionary and a gifted operational thinker in emergency medicine. To have him endow our first academic chair is a great honor for our school as we strive to forge a new forward-thinking way of educating medical students,” said Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., founding dean of the Fort Worth M.D. school. “Dr. McCarthy truly honors the spirit of this gift and will be a valued leader and role model as our school continues into the future.”
A graduate of the School of Medicine at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Dr. McCarthy completed his residency in internal medicine at UTMB. An experienced medical educator, he was an associate professor of surgery in the division of emergency medicine at UTMB Galveston, and currently serves as a clinical adjunct professor for the Physician Assistant Studies program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
Dr. McCarthy is the Director of Emergency Medicine for Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth and was able to work alongside Dr. Geesbreght at the hospital for the last 20 years.
“He’s a natural emergency doctor and he’s been through it all. He’s a teacher and it just flows through his veins and shows through his level of understanding,” Dr. Geesbreght said of Dr. McCarthy. “To be an emergency guy, you have to be able to see things and fix things, but more importantly you have to be an advocate of the patient first. That’s what he is.”
Dr. McCarthy says Dr. Geesbreght inspires him to “go and conquer the world.”
“He makes you think you can do things that you didn’t know you could,” Dr. McCarthy said. “He just fertilizes your mind and makes you become creative and come up with ways to solve problems.”
Dr. Geesbreght, who received his medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, has been in practice for more than 45 years at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.
Working alongside Dr. Geesbreght in the emergency department has been more than just a working relationship, according to Dr. McCarthy.
“In many ways I look at him more like a father figure as far as medicine goes, but he is also a real friend to me,” Dr. McCarthy said. “In my toughest and most traumatic moments in life he’s been there for me.”