JOHN BOXELL
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Nearly a half century ago, a pair of Indiana University-trained physicians, who had completed their residency together in head and neck surgery in Indianapolis, headed south for a weekend trip to consider joining a surgical practice in Chattanooga.
Dr. John Boxell and his partner, Dr. Hathaway Harvey, were immediately impressed by the community and joined what was then already a 59-year-old medical practice in Chattanooga known as the Associates in Ear, Nose, Throat/Head & Neck Surgery. Their arrival added new expertise and procedures to the market in neurosurgery and head and neck cancer treatments.
Boxell has rotated his surgeries and his civic contributions among Chattanooga’s hospitals. He practiced surgery on the the first day when Parkridge hospital opened in 1971 and was board certified at nine area hospitals, including Children’s Hospital at Erlanger where he was a frequent ear, nose and throat (E.N.T.) specialist for young children. Boxell was first vice-chief and then chief of the Memorial hospital staff in the early 1980s and chairman of Memorial’s board a decade later. He later served as chairman of the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation, as well as president of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society and the Chattanooga Surgical Foundation.
“Dr. Boxell is not a Memorial, Erlanger or Parkridge doctor. His service always transcended these limiting descriptions,” says George “Chip” Faircloth, a hospital administrator who worked with Boxell at both Erlanger and Memorial. “He is egalitarian in his service, devoted to many of our fine facilities and local programs, and a great example to many.”
Boxell, who is 78 years old, retired from his active medical practice in 2005 but he remains a physician adviser for cancer services at Memorial hospital.
During his practice, Boxell provided free clinic service and surgical services for the underserved and uninsured population for 35 years. He was the only physician in the area to provide free otolaryngology services to what is now Siskin Children’s Institute. He has also been a leader or board member for the Tennessee Valley Medical Assembly, the Chattanooga Science Fair and the United Way and remains on the Chattanooga tumor board and the Hurlbut Cancer Fund.
Boxell’s service also was exemplified every Tuesday night during the last decade of his medical practice when he would take his wife and employees from the office, have a bag supper in the car, and seeing patients in cities like South Pittsburg who wouldn’t otherwise have access or be able to afford such care.
“It was something I enjoyed because there was no scheduling and I got the chance to see a variety of patients,” Boxell recalls. “Chattanooga is a community with a rich tradition of volunteer service and I’ve been blessed to be a part of that.”