A highlight of the Texas Medical Association’s Leadership Summit in Austin, TMA awarded its prestigious Laurance N. Nickey MD, Lifetime Achievement Award to Houston trauma surgeon Kenneth Mattox, MD, for his dedication to the medical field since 1964, and notably for his relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina.
Only the second award of its kind given out to date, it was created by the TMA Council on Science and Public Health to recognize a TMA member physician who has made outstanding contributions to medicine through a significant commitment to public health. Its namesake, Dr. Nickey, was an El Paso pediatrician described as “a father of public health in Texas” in a tribute video played during the award ceremony at the closing session of Leadership Summit on Saturday, Jan. 27.
Until now, only one physician had been awarded the recognition since its creation in 2019, Robert Haley, MD.
Benjamin Lee, MD, current chair of TMA’s Council on Science and Public Health, introduced the latest recipient, Dr. Mattox, describing him as “the definition of service above self.”
A graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Mattox has served as a distinguished service professor at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of staff and surgeon-in-chief at Ben Taub Hospital, where he established a renowned trauma center and influenced trauma standards in Texas.
Dr. Mattox thanked many peers in his brief acceptance speech, as well as highlighting a few of his favorite personal accomplishments throughout his long career, none more important than his efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he said.
His leadership during those efforts contributed to the rescue and relocation of 27,000 people from New Orleans to Houston.
“People were displaced, hungry; crime was running rampant [in New Orleans]. I was asked to be a part of a small medical team, and we were put in charge of supervising medical care for thousands of visits in two weeks,” Dr. Mattox recalled.
In his closing remarks, he highlighted the "enormous opportunity” for similar efforts along the Texas-Mexico border, something Dr. Nickey also focused on throughout his career, eventually leading to the creation of the United States-Mexico border health care commission.
Dr. Mattox also shared his favorite quote with the audience, one that inspired him throughout his more than 60-year medical career.
“Go to the heart of danger; there is where you’ll find success,” Dr. Mattox said, adding that winning the Nickey award was “the singular most proud thing I’ve done in my life.”
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