Rafael López Nussa
| Dr. Rafael López Nussa | |
|---|---|
| Born |
22 February 1885[1] Mayagüez, Puerto Rico |
| Died |
3 March 1943[1] San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Education |
Georgetown University New York Post Graduate Medical School Chicago Laboratory of Surgical Technique |
| Years active | ca. 1915(?) - 1943 |
| Known for |
First heart surgery operation in Puerto Rico Co-founder of the Puerto Rico National Guard |
| Relatives |
Ramon B. López (father) Micaela Nussa (mother) |
|
Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician, Public servant |
| Institutions |
Hospital San Lucas Hospital de Distrito de Ponce Escuela de Medicina Tropical |
Rafael López Nussa (1885–1943) was a Puerto Rican physician and public servant. In 1916 López Nussa performed the first heart surgery operation in Puerto Rico.
Early Years
López Nussa was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, on 22 February 1885. He was the son of Ramon B. López and Micaela Nussa.[1]
Education
After completing his schooling years and graduating from high school in Puerto Rico, López Nussa entered college and graduated with a degree in medicine from Georgetown University in 1906. He graduated with specialization from the New York Post Graduate Medical School in 1913, and from the Chicago Laboratory of Surgical Technique in 1916.[1]
Career
He returned to Puerto Rico and acted as medical director at the Hospital Tricoche in Ponce from 1907 to 1920.[1] He represented Puerto Rico at the International Congress for Medicine in London in 1913.[2] In 1916 he performed a delicate cardiac surgical procedure at Hospital Tricoche in Ponce; it is so registered in the records of the Puerto Rico Medical Association as the first such procedure performed in Puerto Rico.[1]
In 1918 he took a position at the Hospital San Lucas as surgeon and medical director. He was also a surgeon at Ponce's Hospital de Distrito, and was also a medical consultant for the new Escuela de Medicina Tropical in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[1]
Political and other activities
In 1915, Lopez Nussa was one of the co-founders of the Puerto Rico National Guard.[3] In 1928, he was president of Ponce School Board. He was also president of the Ponce Rotary Club, vicepresident of the Puerto Rico Medical Association, member of the American Board of Surgeons, and the physician of the Ponce Firefighters Corps.[1] In 1930, he presided over the medical group that traveled to the Dominican Republic to care for victims of San Zenon tropical storm.[1] In 1934, Lopez Nussa formed part of the welcoming committee for the arrival of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife to Ponce.[4]
Death
Lopez Nussa, died in San Juan on 3 March 1943.
Legacy
- There is a public housing developments in Ponce named after Lopez Nussa.[5][6]
- He is also recognized as one of Ponce's notable physicians[7] at the Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.
- In San Juan, the municipal hospital is named in his honor.[8]
- In Ponce, there is also a school named in his memory.[9]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album Histórico de Ponce (1692-1963). Page 277. (Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963.)
- ↑ Seventeenth International Congress of Medicine (London, 1913). British Medical Journal. 1913 June 28; 1(2739): 1375–1376. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ↑ Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album Histórico de Ponce (1692-1963). Page 263. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963.
- ↑ Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album Histórico de Ponce (1692-1963). Page 146. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963.
- ↑ MENSAJE DE PRESUPUESTO: AÑO FISCAL 2011-2012. Page 29. Hon. María “Mayita” Meléndez Altieri, Mayor. Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ↑ Sunny A. Cabrera Salcedo. Hacia un Estudio Integral de la Toponimia del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ph. D. dissertation. May 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Graduate School. Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Page 182.
- ↑ Medicine. TravelPonce Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ↑ Health Care Resources: Puerto Rico/VirginIslands. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ↑ School Name: DR. Rafael Lopez Nussa. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S.Department of Education. Retrieved 18 March 2012.