The Reporter: Dec 1994, Vol.5, No.4
Bendixen Honored as Portrait is Unveiled

A portrait of Dr. Henrik H. Bendixen was unveiled at a September reception in the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library. The reception celebrated the appointment of Dr. Bendixen as professor emeritus of anesthesiology.

A faculty member since 1973, he served as chairman of anesthesiology and as vice president for the health sciences and dean of the faculty of medicine from 1984 to 1989. He has been senior associate vice president for the health sciences and senior associate dean of the faculty of medicine since March 1989.

Dr. Bendixen is best known for his contributions to anesthesiology and intensive care medicine and his involvement in medical education and sociomedical problems, such as the cost effectiveness of health care.

"Perhaps Henrik's greatest contribution to us and to the health care community has been his vision," said Dr. Herbert Pardes, vice president and dean, at the reception. "He has consistently seen where the practice of medicine, where medical education, and where the delivery of health care were going long before the messages reached the rest of us."

As examples, Dr. Pardes recognized Dr. Bendixen's responsibility for the first department-wide practice plan at CPMC (in anesthesiology), his role in establishing one of the first intensive care units for adults in the nation, his support of the creation of the Center for Medical Informatics and the Office of Clinical Trials, his key role in saving the School of Nursing, his participation in creating the college's affiliation with a medical school in Moscow, and his initiation of the Robert Wood Johnson curriculum reform proposal.

Dr. Pardes also noted Dr. Bendixen's significant role in establishing the IAIMS information system. "Without his vision and commitment to work on the joint project with Tom Morris, it is highly likely that we would not have a campus network or the clinical, library, and administrative resources that exist today."

The Department of Anesthesiology established the Henrik H. Bendixen Professorship of Anesthesiology from a fund started in 1988 to honor Dr. Bendixen. At the September reception, Dr. Bendixen received the first Vice President and Dean's Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Bendixen's portrait, painted by Lee Savage, will hang permanently on the wall immediately to the right of the entrance to the computer and media services area on the second floor of the Health Sciences Library. "This location was chosen to acknowledge Dr. Bendixen's long-standing support of the role of information technology in education, clinical systems, and administration," said Dr. Pardes.