Ira J. Kodner, MD, and James T. Kirk, the famous captain of Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise, share a common calling to explore uncharted territory. But while Capt. Kirk is pure fiction, Dr. Kodner is the real thing. He is a major figure in the development of the specialty of colon and rectal surgery and in ethics education—both nationally and within Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
When asked where he gets his courage
and drive, the intrepid Dr. Kodner replies:
“I suppose my courage comes from my
father who, at 19, got his parents and
brothers out of Russia, while my values
come from my mother.”
Indeed, he credits the hours he spent at his
mother’s side, learning to embroider and
garden, and watching her extraordinary
kindness to others, that instilled in him
the importance of compassion and caring
for those in need.
The result is a long career of first-time
positions that include being the founder
and first chief of the Section of Colon
and Rectal Surgery at Washington
University. He also held the Solon
and Bettie Gershman Endowed Chair
in Colon and Rectal Surgery from
The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish
Hospital from 1985 until his retirement
in 2013. Funding from the chair allowed
Dr. Kodner to launch and carry out
a number of innovative programs.
Among them was the creation of a unique
curriculum in surgical ethics education
at Washington University School of
Medicine—a program that positioned
the school as a national leader in the field.
Another direct outcome of the ethics
program was the creation, in 2005, of the
palliative care service at Barnes-Jewish
Hospital. In recent years, Dr. Kodner
has been a champion for the efforts to
build Evelyn’s House, the BJC Hospice
facility that opened on the grounds of
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital
in 2017.
“All of these extra things—thinking about
ethics issues, teaching students more
intently—became possible because of
the endowed chair,” Dr. Kodner says. “It
supported me during a busy surgical career
and allowed me to do these other things that
I thought were special and very needed.”
Giving back is also very important
to Dr. Kodner and he continues to
be involved in numerous national and
local organizations that seek to improve
people’s lives. The Foundation for
Barnes-Jewish Hospital is one of those organizations. Dr. Kodner joined the
board of directors in 2016 and serves
on the Philanthropy Committee.
"The work of the
Foundation allows people
to be innovative, to deviate
from the old standard.
It’s not just the financial
support, it’s the feeling
of empowerment to know
the community is behind
you,” Dr. Kodner says.
Dr. Kodner’s trailblazing accomplishments
and community service have been
recognized with many prestigious
honors including the Foundation’s
2018 President’s Achievement Award.
“Recipients of the President’s Achievement
Award are among the finest, most
accomplished physicians in the world.They advance medical knowledge and
continuously improve our practices,
while delivering care in a compassionate,
respectful, and responsive way,” says
Bob Cannon, president of Barnes-Jewish
Hospital and group president of BJC
HealthCare. “Dr. Ira J. Kodner epitomizes
all of this award’s criteria, and then some.”
Dr. Kodner’s acclaimed medical career
started in the 1960s, when he was a
student at Washington University School
of Medicine. As the Vietnam War escalated,he joined the U.S. Army in 1967 as part
of a program that paid for his final year
of education and, in return, required
him to serve for three years. He became
a battalion surgeon in Germany for two
years, ended up on the Surgical Service
of the U.S. Army Hospital Berlin, and
rose to the rank of Major.
After completing his Army service and
finishing his general surgery residency
at The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis,
he received fellowship training under a
highly-regarded colon and rectal surgeon
at the Cleveland Clinic. When Dr. Kodner
and his wife, Barbara, returned to St. Louis
with their three children, he joined a private
surgical practice, under the mentorship
of Stanley London, MD, and became one
of the first board-certified colon and rectal
surgeons in St. Louis.
“A good part of my career was helping
people no one else cared to help,” he
says. “We started something no one else
wanted to do.”
In fact, his interest in colon and rectal
surgery developed in response to the need to
help patients with colostomies, ileostomies,
or urinary conduits who were not being well
served by the medical community.
He was later recruited to a full-time
academic practice at Washington University
to start and head the colon and rectal
surgery service. Colon and rectal cancer
was one of the first malignancies that
could be predicted by genetic mutation.
This led Dr. Kodner to take on the
challenge of ethically managing genetic
predisposition to the disease.
Even when he was in his 60s, Dr. Kodner
continued to blaze new trails. He completed
a one-year fellowship in clinical medical
ethics at the University of Chicago and
went on to found and direct the Center for
the Study of Ethics and Human Values at
Washington University from 2002 to 2010.
To ensure the continuation of the study
of ethics in medicine and surgery, and to
honor Dr. Kodner’s lifelong commitment
to others, the Foundation recently created
The Barbara and Ira J. Kodner MD
Endowed Fund for Surgical Ethics. The
fund also recognizes Barbara’s critical support of Ira and her nurturing of
hundreds of students, residents, and
surgical fellows. Gifts from the Eric P. and
Evelyn E. Newman Foundation (Peggy
and Andy Newman), Yvette and John
Dubinsky, and Carol and Mark Vittert,
initiated the fund. Others have also
given, and the Foundation is committed
to engaging even more philanthropy to
advance education, research and advocacy
in the field of surgical ethics.
“I’ve been the luckiest person in the
world to get support for my ideas over
the years. It allowed me to do innovative
things and it totally changed my career
track. I’m forever thankful for it.”
Live long and prosper, Dr. Kodner!