SMRC Remembers Halsted Holman
(August 21 2024)
SMRC, and the Stanford Patient Education Research Center and the Stanford Arthritis Center before that, would not exist if he weren’t for the “revolutionary” ideas of Halsted (Hal) Holman MD. Hal served as the first chair of Medicine at Stanford and was on the faculty for over 60 years. Our pioneering self-management programs began when this internationally respected Stanford physician recruited a graduate student at UC Berkeley to create a “patient-centered” program to educate people with arthritis on how to care for themselves. That student was Kate Lorig. She suggested a lay-taught program, unheard of in academic medicine at the time. Hal was a bit skeptical but encouraged her to try it. The Arthritis Self-Help Course, the precursor to all Stanford and SMRC Self-Management courses, was the result.
We lost Hal in June at the age of 99.
Hal was teacher and mentor to countless others. His fellows and Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars are now influencing future physicians at medical schools and in professional books and articles. His influence is beyond measure. To SMRC’s Kate Lorig, Diana Laurent and Virginia González, he was a mentor and a friend for over 40 years. We loved him and miss him. He was always available to offer advice and to help us stay a part of the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, as well as the Department of Medicine. We had crazy ideas, like placing people with different chronic conditions in the same workshop, and he defended and encouraged us. Even though we were not physicians, we were included in many meetings and events. He was instrumental in getting a faculty appointment for Kate.
For Hal’s 90th birthday, an all-day event was held at Stanford. People flew in to attend from all over, and not all of them were medical people. Hal was a passionate supporter of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, and members of Dr. Martin Luther King’s inner circle came to his celebration. He was also passionate about other issues, most notably equitable health care for all……..and baseball.
Kate, Diana and Virginia can tell many stories about Hal that are inspiring, sweet, and sometimes humorous, but this post would be way too long!
His biography is rich and fascinating. You can learn more about his long and eventful life at this link from the Stanford Report:
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