Alison Norris: A legacy of care and commitment to her patients

Alison Norris, MD

By all accounts, family, friends, and colleagues will tell you that Alison Norris left us far too young in life.

Alison, a beloved nephrologist who passed away at the age of 57 in 2009, focused much of her practice on patient care and advocacy with equal measures of brilliance and passion. The hundreds of individuals in her care knew Alison would not only fight for them, but with them, through every stage of their treatment and recovery.

This past month, Alison's sister, Laurie Norris, and Laurie's husband, Clarence Pearson, ensured that Alison's commitment to holistic patient care would be remembered and shared with the next generation of nephrologists through a generous, multi-year grant of $250,000 to The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) to establish the Alison Norris Nephrology Section. The grant will support an annual national educational program for trainees and faculty in nephrology to be held at NYAM on issues of importance to Alison: ethical dilemmas in patient care, patient-centered communication and advocacy, end-of-life care, and controversies in nephrology.

For Laurie, the grant is a realization of her sister's desire to affect the way we think about the practice of medicine, its implications for patient care and advocacy, and a forum to focus on the field of nephrology. And it is a reaffirmation of the love and deep respect Alison's colleagues held for her throughout her career in medicine. For Laurie, the decision to establish the section was one of great love and affection for a sister who, despite having suffered a long and debilitating disease, never lost focus on her work and her devotion to her patients.

"Those closest to her said that she was a superb clinician and a caring and devoted physician, who went above and beyond what an average doctor would do; she was indefatigable and would stay up all night with patients," Ms. Norris said. "Alison was meticulous, brilliant, and had a generous spirit, and she used those qualities to take care of her patients."

Alison Norris, MD, was born on November 27, 1952, to Alexander R. and Jean Norris in Providence, Rhode Island. As an undergraduate, Dr. Norris began at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1970, but switched her career path to the sciences, majoring in biology and graduating with a BA in 1972. She then attended the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Her post-graduate training included research at Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center followed by an internship and Residency at the University Hospital of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Norris completed a Fellowship in Nephrology at New York Hospital, Cornell Medical College. Her long-term hospital affiliations included Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville, MD and Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD, where she served as Chairman of the Quality Assurance Committee.

Sadly, Dr. Norris died on December 2, 2009, as a result of complications from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), contracted as a result of a tragic automobile accident several years earlier.

In life, Alison touched many lives and was in turn touched by those with whom she worked, treated, or simply lent a helping hand. This was a part of Alison that many would come to respect and cherish. When Dr. Norris trained at Cornell in the 1980s, Alan M. Weinstein, MD, served as her nephrology fellowship supervisor. Dr. Weinstein, who currently serves as Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, will serve as the chair of the Alison Norris Nephrology Section.

"Alison Norris practiced with a vision of the nephrologist as a patient ally and advocate, a role requiring more than just a good heart, but also insight into the special struggles and emotional landscape of someone with renal failure," Dr. Weinstein said. "It is the mission of the Alison Norris Nephrology Section at NYAM to provide a forum for the nephrology community to consider these issues and to review what is known about the practice of nephrology."

NYAM President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, echoed Dr. Weinstein's sentiments, viewing this generous gift as a means of further advancing Alison’s desire to educate the medical profession and the general public and to advocate for those who do not often have a voice.

"This most generous grant will increase our institutional capacity to further the study of nephrology as a profession and will also increase our ability to share new trends through the creation of a new Section," said Dr. Boufford. "More importantly, it will serve as a longstanding tribute to Alison Norris’s commitment to making the health care system work for all patients."

Friends and colleagues who wish to contribute to the Alison Norris Memorial Fund may send gifts to Nicole Bouknight Johnson, Director of Individual Giving, Development and Communications at NYAM, 1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029. Please make check payable to The New York Academy of Medicine. For further information, Ms. Bouknight may be reached at (212) 822-7256 or nbouknight@nyam.org.

Posted on April 26, 2011

Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org