Renowned neonatologist retires after 48 years at Riley

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

Dr. Jim Lemons still remembers one of the sickest premature babies he ever cared for in the NICU at Riley Hospital for Children.

It was 20 years ago, and her name was Molly. She was a 23-weeker who weighed a pound and a half, and he was certain she would not survive.

“She had every complication you could imagine,” he said.

If she did survive, she most certainly would never walk or talk, he thought.

He was never so glad to be proven wrong.

In May, he celebrated Molly’s high school graduation with her parents, Myra and Joe Hess. The couple credit Dr. Lemons for never giving up on their little girl, who went on to walk and talk and sing and create and is now preparing to study photography and visual arts in college.

As he tells the story, he wipes tears from his eyes. Anyone who knows him understands that this is who he is.

“I do this all the time,” he chuckles, grabbing a tissue.

It’s his heart on display.

“Dr. Lemons thinks of others in all that he does,” Myra Hess said, recalling how his care for their daughter in the NICU expanded to include them as well.

For him, it is a privilege caring for people in their darkest times, he said. “Who else in the world gets to walk beside people in their deepest, most sacred journey?”

A minister perhaps. A profession he considered, but medicine won out.

WALKING EACH OTHER HOME

If you’re lucky, you meet people in life who make you feel hopeful for the world. Dr. Lemons is one of those people.

Unfailingly kind and generous with his time, the longtime physician, teacher, adviser, mentor and humanitarian sees the value in everyone he encounters and strives to make connections, whether in a patient’s room, a classroom, a coffee shop or an airport.

“We’re all just walking each other home,” he likes to say, quoting author and spiritual teacher Ram Dass.

Dr. Lemons, who is retiring this month after a 48-year career as a neonatologist at Riley Hospital for Children, is beloved by colleagues and families for his clinical skills, his tender care for the sickest babies and his compassion for their parents.

“A tireless servant leader and an unceasing advocate for newborns and their families. A giant among giants.”

That’s how one colleague, Dr. Kristen Suhrie, describes him.

“He has worked to level the playing field for the care of critically ill newborns here in Indiana and across the globe, ensuring that no matter where a baby receives care, it's the best care they could receive,” she said.

“He has built capacity through mentorship, and I have benefited greatly from the foundation he has laid here at Indiana University and Riley. I have never met someone who has shared only kind and thoughtful words with everyone he encounters, even when he himself is carrying a heavy burden.”

A CALMING PRESENCE

The 81-year-old, who has divided his time between Riley and Eskenazi Hospital for the past several years, has learned over time that his joy is found in relationships, in building connections.

“I feel so lucky having been here for 48 years because I’ve taken care of grandparents, their children and their grandchildren in the NICU.”

He was called over to University Hospital many years ago to calm a mother as her daughter was giving birth to a 32-week gestational baby. That soon-to-be grandmother was distraught because she gave birth to her daughter at 32 weeks decades earlier and her daughter was born with severe cerebral palsy. With advances in medicine, however, there was little risk of the same outcome for her granddaughter, Dr. Lemons assured her.

“The trauma of going through that with her daughter was overwhelming her, but she did fine,” he said.

That calm reassurance is something he brings with him into every patient room. Longtime NICU nurse Jo Curtiss saw it firsthand.

“He’s always had a gentleness about him and a calming effect on families.”

The Chicago-area native, who grew up with two working parents and four brothers, learned about kindness, fairness and hard work from his parents and took those principles into adult life. He attended Princeton University on scholarship, where he played tennis, then went to Northwestern University for medical school, University of Michigan for a pediatrics residency, followed by his neonatology fellowship in Colorado.

That’s where he met Dr. Richard Schreiner, and the two reunited at Riley in 1978 when Dr. Lemons joined the neonatology team.

“We thought we’d be here five or 10 years, then move on to a different medical center,” Dr. Lemons said.

BUILDING A PROGRAM

Lucky for Riley babies, as well as NICUs around Indianapolis and the state that now are supported by Riley physicians, he never left.

He went on to lead the division and leave his mark in many ways, including establishing the first NICU family support program in the state, helping launch universal newborn hearing screenings, and contributing to a major drop in infant mortality by introducing surfactant as the standard of care for preemies around the world.

“Jim is the best of the best,” Dr. Schreiner said of his friend and longtime colleague. “He is a master clinician, teacher, researcher, role model, mentor, patient and family advocate, program leader and human being. I think what sets Jim apart from the other top 1% of physician leaders is his passionate concern, advocacy and action for those less privileged.”

He wears his heart on his sleeve, literally, as captured in a photo with Dr. Schreiner, the two sporting matching Riley wagon tattoos on their arms years ago.

Much like Dr. Schreiner, Dr. Lemons is a talker – in a soft-spoken way. And he has stories that can go on for hours. He starts one, only to be swept up into another and another, making it difficult to remember the original question.

The many facets of his life are captured in photos that cover the walls of his small office: family photos and sketches featuring his wife, retired neonatal nurse practitioner Pam Lemons; their three adult children and two grandchildren; adopted Kenyan daughter Joy; along with artwork marking his travels; even his claim to fame in the golfing world – the last hole in one on the original fifth hole at Pebble Beach in California. Of course there’s a story there. And if you ever bump into him, you can ask him about it.

What you won’t see on the walls are many awards, despite Dr. Lemons being a most accomplished physician, visiting professor at more than 70 universities and author of some 300 articles and book chapters. Those are packed away. Recognition in that sense was never the point.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

What he treasures are letters from parents and former patients, and he has hundreds, perhaps thousands, dating back decades. It’s stories like those, personal stories of patients, that can teach us how to be better humans, he said.

“I love being able to connect with people, to listen and to really see them,” he said.

It’s advice he gives to his medical students. Listen to that mom or dad for a few minutes while they tell their story, he urges. And before leaving the room, say something kind and smile.

“I don’t know if you can teach empathy, but you can model it. It’s as simple as caring for one another. During our relatively short lifespan here on Earth,” he said, “we should be seeing and listening and caring for one another, be more accessible and less judgmental.”

Dr. Laura Haneline, division chief for neonatal-perinatal medicine and interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics, met Dr. Lemons when she was a med student in 1990. He played a major role in her decision to stay at Riley for her pediatric residency and fellowship, she said.

“His genuine kindness and care for the whole patient and family is a model for family-centered care. He is a master at developing relationships with families because he connects with them on a level that few achieve, developing trust and open communication by sincerely caring about the whole person.”

A portrait of Dr. Lemons examining an infant that was painted by a colleague hangs outside the Riley NICU, where he spent so much of his time. Nearby is a picture of the Riley Mother Baby Hospital in Kenya, which Dr. Lemons and his wife worked to fund and open nearly two decades ago.

While he was responsible for substantial growth in pediatric research programs and recruitment at Riley as division chief, his interest in global health evolved naturally from his travels and his work on scholarly journals and studies that seek to give every child the opportunity to survive and thrive.

“He is passionate about improving neonatal care in low-resource settings,” Dr. Haneline said.

“THE ART OF COMPASSION”

Retired neonatologist Dr. William Engle credits Dr. Lemons with teaching him “the art of compassion, caring and respect for our tiny patients and their families.”

But there was always more wisdom to impart.

“He modeled and encouraged critical thinking based on factual information and inquisitive investigation to unravel questions and controversies in neonatology,” Dr. Engle said.

And he showed that medicine is “a team sport that requires excellent clinicians and support staff mixed in a most efficient organization to provide the most excellent care with compassion, respect and love.”

Other colleagues lined up to weigh in on the man:

Dr. Ed Liechty: “Jim was a mentor before mentor became a buzz word. He taught us all the physiology of perinatal development and the technical aspects of neonatal medicine. But more importantly he exemplified the importance of caring for the whole family in a truly humanistic manner. He was a true role model for all in this aspect of medicine.”

Dr. Jo Ann Matory: “As the section chief for the Division of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine, Dr. Lemons provided leadership that embodied his commitment to compassionate care in conjunction with the highest standard of clinical care for patients and their families. He was a progressive leader who sought to recruit, build and maintain a cohesive group of physicians who worked to ensure that these standards were met. His role as an academic at IU School of Medicine established the groundwork for countless future generations of neonatologists.”

Dr. Mervin Yoder: “I want to thank Jim for his vision, compassion, example and encouragement that fueled his development of the Neonatology Division at Riley over the past nearly 50 years. He allowed his faculty the freedom to pursue their own paths and comprise one of the most diverse and accomplished groups in the country. What a pleasure it has been to be a part of what he built and has so carefully given to others to continue to develop and expand.”

Humble by nature, Dr. Lemons might be embarrassed by the tributes, but he takes pride in the relationships he’s built through the years, including with a tiny patient named Molly, who grew up despite all odds.

“Dr. Lemons has helped us to celebrate all of Molly’s accomplishments, Myra Hess said. “She wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t led the NICU with grace and persistence.”

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org