News

MSDC mourns the loss of past president and medical luminary Dr. Dennis O'Leary. Dr. O'Leary passed away on January 29 at a hospice center in Kansas City.

To MSDC members, Dennis was a (at the time) rare academic physician who was elected president in 1983. Under his leadership, MSDC helped reform local hospital licensing laws, a tradition of MSDC leadership on licensing that continues today. After his presidency, he served as president of the Joint Commission where he served for 21 years.

To DC residents, Dr. O'Leary was an internal medicine physician who joined the George Washington Medical School in 1972. He became a full professor and dean of clinical affairs in 1979. Prior to that, Dr. O'Leary headed the blood coagulation unit at Walter Reed.

To the wider public, Dr. O'Leary served the valuable role as spokesperson to the public in the aftermath of the Reagan attempted assassination. When the president was rushed to GW Hospital from the Washington Hilton, Dr. O'Leary was the next person on the list for hospital spokespersons, with the hospital CEO unavailable. He became the media's go-to voice for updates on the president's condition despite little training for such a scenario.