I met Rick Corman, aka, RJ Corman, president of RJ Corman Railroad Company on a snowy February morning in 2009 at the Saint Joseph Jessamine RJ Corman Ambulatory Care Center. We were there doing a story on the new medical facility, which was built with Corman’s financial support.
I found Rick Corman to be patient and un-assuming yet passionate in his remarks on the need for a high quality medical facility in his hometown of Jessamine County. “We need it,” said Corman. “There are 26 stoplights between here and the nearest hospital and we’ve watched those ambulances drive past our business many times.”
In April 2013, Corman bestowed another generous gift to the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation to bring digital mammography services to Saint Joseph Jessamine. The gift, made in honor of Corman’s sister, created the Sandra J. Adams Digital Mammography Suite at the facility and marked the first time mammography services had been available at the center. Published reports say that RJ Corman and the RJ Corman Railroad Group is the largest philanthropic supporter in Saint Joseph Hospital history.
Corman died on August 23, 2013 after a six year fight with multiple myeloma. When I heard the news of his passing, I remembered our interview in 2009 and the note he sent to me the next day. I kept the note, in his signature red ink, because I knew Rick Corman was a special and unique individual who cared about the health and welfare of Kentuckians, and he did something about it, just like the many physicians and healthcare providers that you read about in every issue of M.D. Update.
I invite you to read the stories of some of the doctors, researchers and healthcare professionals who continue the fight against cancer and others health problems in Kentucky. Contact me if you have a story to tell.
All the Best, Gil Dunn Publisher, M.D. Update