Page 16 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2021- Online Magazine
P. 16
Dr. Salem returned to Lubbock in 1962
and opened a practice as a general and
vascular surgeon. In 1970, he developed
a heart surgery program at Methodist
Hospital, and he and Dr. Don Bricker (who
had been his junior resident in Houston)
performed the first open heart surgery
in West Texas. The patient was a young
woman from Levelland named Janie
Morales. The surgery went “beautifully”,
and fifty+ years later, Janie is an active
grandmother.
In 1972, Dr. Salem was named the first
chairman of TTUHSC Department of
Surgery, and in 1992, he became Chief
Medical Officer of Methodist Hospital.
curiosity about anatomy. He remembers how easily In 1998, he was named the CMO of
distracted he would be from hoeing cotton when a the Covenant Health System, and in 2008, CMO
frog hopped by. He couldn’t help dissecting frogs Emeritus. Someone has calculated that he performed
“just to see what they looked like inside”. around 1000 surgeries a year for over 30 years, and
many more after that. He has devoted his life to the
When he finished his military service, he began his care of his patients and the community for close to
residency in Houston under the tutelage of renowned six decades. These days, the indomitable Dr. Salem
Dr. Michael DeBakey (now known as “the father serves as Vice Dean of the TTUHSC Medical School
of modern cardiovascular surgery”). Those four – Covenant Campus, where he oversees all the
years were impossibly grueling. Dr. DeBakey was medical students and residents. His achievements
a perfectionist who got by on very little sleep, and substantiate the name “Builders”, and the good
he expected his residents to perform to his high doctor shows no signs of slowing down.
expectations. It was terribly demanding on young
Dr. Salem, but he soon realized the value of the Recognizing the stature of one of their most esteemed
education he received under the brilliant medical physicians, Covenant Health Systems dedicated
pioneer. The two doctors shared a Lebanese Christian prime real estate just inside the main entrance of the
heritage, and eventually, “we became good friends.” hospital to house a large collection of Dr. Salem’s
memorabilia. The keepsakes, clippings, awards,
and photos present a visual history of the boy from
Sudan, the Air Force veteran, the brilliant heart
surgeon, and the compassionate doctor. His first
doctor’s bag, his USAF uniform, gifts from grateful
patients and so much more
tell a fascinating story that
transports visitors back
in time. In addition, Dr.
Salem’s autobiography
Sandstorms and Surgery
tells his story in his own
words, and the Southwest
Collection at Texas Tech
is curator of many more
volumes and visuals that
the space at Covenant
didn’t have room to house.
16 Lubbock Senior Link
