We are deeply saddened by the recent death of our friend and colleague, John Hickner, after a brief illness. John was 72.
John was a small-town family physician, and this guided virtually all of his professional endeavors. As a member of the faculty for the Michigan State University Department of Family Medicine in Escanaba, John helped establish two practice-based research networks – the state-wide Michigan Research Network and the regional Upper Peninsula Research Network (UPRNet).
In 1999, John worked with the American Academy of Family Physicians to create the National Research Network, now composed of more than 870 practices and nearly 2400 members. His own interests in respiratory infections, stemming from his experiences with his own children, led to work with the North American Respiratory Infection Study Group and with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
John’s interests in practice-based research paralleled his interests in evidence-based medicine, largely as a way to translate research into daily practice. This focus on evidence guided much of his work as Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Family Practice, a title he held for a decade.
John was more than a thoughtful and kind clinician, an outstanding educator, and a gifted researcher; he was a natural leader. John had the capacity to understand the systems in which he worked and was able to skillfully guide teams to improve those systems. He served as the Chair of Family Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and then at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), and mentored many faculty, residents, and students during his time at those institutions.
The Department of Family Medicine remembers and honors John Hickner, a wonderful faculty member and friend.
