Richard C. Wuerz, MD, Associate Research Director, Department of Emergency Medicine and Assistant Professor of Medicine (Emergency Medicine), HMS, passed away unexpectedly Friday, October 6, of a rare form of rupture of the aorta. He was 39.
At BWH, Wuerz rapidly achieved prowess as a researcher in Emergency Medicine while serving as a full-time, practicing Emergency Physician. His research focused on the development of a new system for triaging emergency department patients using a novel scoring system that he invented. With a
research team that spanned the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, Wuerz performed a series of studies that proved that his system was the first in history to reliably predict both resource utilization and likelihood of death or need for hospital admission. His work had earned him the Esther B. Kahn Fellowship Award, a federal research grant from the Agency for Health Research and Quality, and a conference grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
When Wuerz came to BWH in 1998, he wrote this self report of teaching for his curriculum vitae:“When I come to work, I have no idea what that day will bring, but I know I will go home feeling that I made a difference. For me, beside teaching and patient care are activities that inspire and sustain each other. Teaching and medicine are helping professions, and their practice is both a privilege and a great responsibility.”
Prior to his work at BWH, Wuerz was Associate Professor of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. He served as Medical Director of the Life Lion Critical Care Transport Service (a helicopter and ambulance system serving the entire state of Pennsylvania) and was the Medical Director for Special Events EMS for Pennsylvania State University, coordinating emergency care and evacuation for all mass gatherings, including sporting events.
A Canton resident, Wuerz was born and raised in St. Charles, Missouri. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Rochester Medical School in New York. He leaves his wife, Cynthia Elsner; two sons, Andrew F. and Alexander R.; a daughter, Emily A.; his parents, Teresa and Robert, of Chesterfield, Mo.; and two brothers, Stephen of Canada and Larry of California.
In lieu of flowers, the family has established the Richard C. Wuerz, M.D. Scholarship Fund for Emergency Medicine Research. Donations may be sent care of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Room PBB-100, Boston, MA 02115.