University Times

Richard Bjerke, an associate professor in the medical school’s Department of Anesthesiology and chief anesthesiologist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, died April 12, 2008. He was 53.

Bjerke, of Mt. Lebanon, was found with a gunshot wound after his car crashed on the Beaver Valley Expressway. The Beaver County coroner’s investigation determined that the wound was self-inflicted.

Bjerke, a 1982 graduate of Baylor College of Medicine, completed his anesthesiology residency and cardiovascular anesthesia fellowship at Pitt then joined the faculty in 1986 as an assistant professor of anesthesia. He was promoted to associate professor in 1993 and became chief of anesthesia at the VA medical center in 1991.

In 2006, Bjerke was awarded the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System’s Outstanding Specialty Care Physician of the Year Award. He had facilitated the development of several programs to improve the quality and safety of health care for veterans and the award was given in recognition of his “exemplary leadership, high professional and clinical standards and commitment to putting veterans first.”

Bjerke was an expert in echocardiography, and was the only anesthesiologist in the nation who directed a diagnostic echocardiography lab, said Mark E. Hudson, the Department of Anesthesiology’s vice chair for clinical operations. He praised Bjerke’s commitment to patient safety and quality of care. “He was a terrific individual who expected the best of himself and everyone around him.”

As the department’s patient safety officer, Bjerke “will always be remembered as the one who formed the foundation for our quality improvement process,” said Hudson.

Anesthesiology faculty member Michael Mangione said Bjerke never complained when called in for emergencies, regardless of the day or hour. “He would always come in to take care of the patient,” Mangione said, adding that their veteran status was an added incentive. “He’d say, ‘These are our soldiers.’ That meant something to him.”

Bjerke is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ferrell Bjerke; a son, Ricky; stepchildren Barton, Willie, Sam and Mattie Schmidt; parents Mary Ann Graves and Duane Bjerke; a brother, Mitchell; a sister, Denise; two nieces and two nephews.

Colleagues held a memorial for Bjerke April 18.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, 520 North Northwest Hwy., Park Ridge, Ill. 60068-2573.

—Kimberly K. Barlow