Dr. Roberta Rice, MD

On her 92^nd birthday, Roberta Rice, M.D., F.A.C.S. decided to give herself a birthday present. She called up Mission Healthcare Foundation and said "I want to establish a gift annuity with you folks." That was a very good birthday present for Dr. Rice. Based on her age she is annually receiving 9.5% from this annuity. She accomplished this less than an hour at the Foundation offices.

Now in retirement, she recalls a life marked by early interest in medicine, providential occurrences and service that lead her to the practice of surgery in Korea. Dr. Rice completed her surgical residency at the Mayo Clinic during WWII, and in 1956 began 22 years of service in Korea as a surgical missionary. Perhaps Dr. Rice's greatest accomplishments in that country have been reflected in the Korean physicians and surgeons whom she guided through their residencies. Many have assumed leadership positions in their field around the world. Some of her residents have given leadership to the surgical society in Korea. Others are members of the American College of Surgeons, having come to this country for further specialization. Another became an accomplished renal transplant surgeon who headed the Asian Society of Transplant Surgeons.

When Dr. Rice returned to the United States from Korea, she contributed to the development of the surgical department at Marshall University Medical School in West Virginia. The new school, affiliated with the Veterans Administration, trained physicians for work in Appalachia. After retirement from the academic and surgical staff in 1986, she consulted in hospice work. A 1992 move brought her to Asheville, North Carolina and a Methodist retirement community for missionaries and deaconesses. She still maintains medical contracts through the county medical society emeritus group.

Dr. Rice observes physicians today have a different set of challenges to surmount. She illustrates with a story. "When I was in the operating room with Dr. Chuck Mayo (son of Mayo founder Dr. Charles Mayo),, a visiting doctor said to him: 'Are you a better surgeon than your father was'? He thought for a moment, and then said: 'Yes, I'm a much better surgeon. I have better equipment, better training. Things are a lot better than when he started'.

"That's what I say to surgeons today," she continued. "With this new world of laparoscopic surgery, they have better equipment, better anesthesia, and better antibiotics. They have the whole care of the ICU system. Patients are getting much better care today as far as the new techniques concerned. But I think surgeons are frustrated when they can't do what they feel the patient needs."

Dr Rice remains, from her youth, an accomplished pipe organist and is an enthusiastic choir participant as well as a volunteer for Mission Hospital. Her interest in life is keen, and she is still involved in helping others.