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October 5, 2009
Marquette General Foundation honors four visionary physician leaders at second annual gala
The Marquette General Foundation honored four physicians who were instrumental in the early development of their respective fields in the Upper Peninsula at its second annual “Celebrating Our Champions Gala – Pioneer Women in Medicine” on Saturday, September 26 at UpFront and Company. The honorees were Dr. Constance Arnold, plastic and reconstructive surgeon; Dr. Barbara Lyons, family medicine specialist; Dr. F. Ann Pillote, pediatrician; and Dr. Janice Lindstrom, neurologist. Proceeds from the Gala will support the purchase of a new linear accelerator and a dedicated CT simulator for the Marquette General Cancer Center.
Pictured from left are: Dr. Constance Arnold; Dr. Barbara Lyons; and Dr. Ann Pillote. Not pictured: Dr. Janice Lindstrom.
“We are absolutely elated to honor Drs. Arnold, Lyons, Pillote and Lindstrom, pioneers of plastic surgery, family practice, pediatric and neurology programs at Marquette General,” said Dr. Dan Arnold, medical oncologist and board chair of the Foundation. “Their contributions to the Health System, to their patients and to health care in the Upper Peninsula should be recognized, so it brought us a great sense of pride to honor them.”
Dr. Constance Arnold began her surgical career in Marquette, Mich., working at Surgical Associates of Marquette from 1979-2006. When she first arrived in Marquette, her general surgery partners didn’t know she could perform reconstructive surgery such as flaps and grafts; the emergency room physicians were astounded that she would come in at night for hand fractures and facial lacerations; burn care and treatment of pressure sores were big-city options; breast reconstruction after mastectomy was covered by insurance in New York, but not in Michigan; and only celebrities had facelifts.
“I wish the chief of my plastic surgery training program at The New York Hospital could have seen me honored. He strongly disapproved of my choice to move to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He said, ‘Annie, what are you going to operate on? Moose? Chipmunks?’”
In 1980, Dr. Arnold started the Upper Peninsula Multidisciplinary Oral Cleft Clinic, offering comprehensive care from infancy through teenage years to children born with cleft lip and palate deformities. She also organized multi-specialty call schedules for continuous emergency coverage for facial and hand trauma. She started plastic surgery outreach clinics in Escanaba and Iron Mountain and recruited two additional plastic surgeons to join her at MGH. She inspired two young women in the MSU College of Human Medicine Upper Peninsula program to specialize in plastic surgery. She served 20 years on the Northern Michigan University Premed Advisory Board, making sure to ask the male students, “How do you plan to combine career and family?” In 1998, she founded The Skin Care Clinic to offer non-surgical aesthetic services as well. She is currently the medical director of Facial Contours in Marquette, and has a solo private practice located at the MGH Specialty Clinic.
Board certified in general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery, Dr. Arnold earned her bachelor’s degree and medical degree at Northwestern University in Chicago. She was the first woman to complete a general surgery residency at New York’s North Shore University Hospital, a Cornell affiliate on Long Island. She completed her plastic surgery residency at The New York Hospital in Manhattan and became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1981.
In 1978, Dr. Lindstrom was the second neurologist to open a practice in Marquette, joining Dr. Donald Schomer, who was already in practice. Dr. Lindstrom had visited the U.P. on a teaching assignment through the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in East Lansing, liked the area and decided to practice here. After Dr. Schomer left for an academic position, she was the only neurologist in the Upper Peninsula until Dr. Michael Koerner later joined her practice. Dr. Lindstrom stayed in practice until 1989.
“My biggest accomplishment was providing ongoing neurological care to the people of the Upper Peninsula and striving to make that care financially accessible to patients by keeping my overhead low and my fees manageable,” said Dr. Lindstrom.
From 1997 – 2008, Dr. Lindstrom was a volunteer member of the MGH Institutional Review Board, which reviews proposed research studies that would involve MGHS patients.
Board certified in neurology, Dr. Lindstrom completed her fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. She completed her residency at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, and completed her internship at St. Louis University Hospitals. She earned her master’s degree in human genetics at the University of Michigan, and her medical degree at the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse.
In 1967, when Dr. Lyons arrived in Marquette, she was one of only a few women physicians in the Upper Peninsula. She began her career as physician and medical director of the Northern Michigan University Health Center. At the same time, she was also an emergency room physician at St. Luke’s and St. Mary’s hospitals in Marquette, where she worked for two years. In 1974, she went into private practice at the Peninsula Medical Center, where she worked for the next 18 years. During her time there, she served as medical director of Superior Shores Nursing in Munising; Mather Nursing Home in Ishpeming; Palmer Home for the Aged in Palmer; Upper Peninsula Home Health in Marquette; U.P. Home Health Nursing in Marquette; Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette; and the Marquette Co. Medical Care Facility in Ishpeming.
She served as associate director of substance abuse at Marquette General Hospital from 1976-1984, and served as president and vice president of the Marquette Medical Dental Center. She was a member of the board of directors for the Northern Michigan Medical Review Association, and a member of the Michigan Peer Review Organization. She was also a board member for the Upper Peninsula Corporation for Medical Care, and a member of the Special Hearing Committee at MGH.
In 1993, Dr. Lyons left the Upper Peninsula to practice medicine in Las Vegas. She retired in 2004, and currently resides in Marquette.
“The best advice I ever received was from Dr. Castler. He told me to always go into your patient’s room with a prayer on your lips, and always come out of their room with a prayer on your lips, and to always remember: you aren’t God,” said Dr. Lyons.
Board certified in family practice, Dr. Lyons completed her residency at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, Pa., and at Ventura County General Hospital in Ventura, Cal. She completed her internship at Graduate Hospital University of Pennsylvania, and earned her medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
When Dr. Pillote arrived in Marquette in 1964, she was one of the first female physicians and the fourth pediatrician to practice in the area. She originally worked with pediatrician Dr. Moses Cooperstock, and then in 1987 she joined Dr. Cleofe Chaves and Dr. Michael Nidiffer at Pediatric Associates. Dr. Pillote retired in 1997, and her practice was later acquired by MGHS and renamed Marquette General Pediatric Specialists, as it is known today.
In 1975, Dr. Pillote started the MGH Special Care Nursery to care for premature and fragile inface. It was the only facility in the U.P. to offer this type of care. The unit earned an upgraded classification a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in1997, and then relocated in 1999 to a larger, more accommodating area of the hospital. Since 1999, 6,808 babies have been born at MGH, and 2,106 babies from across the Upper Peninsula have been cared for in the NICU.
“I feel my biggest career accomplishment is achieving, along with many good people at Marquette General Hospital, one of the lowest neonatal death rates in the state and country,” said Dr. Pillote.
Dr. Pillote served two terms on the Michigan State Board of Licensing and was the first woman member of that board.
Board certified in pediatrics and neonatology, Dr. Pillote completed her residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and completed her internship at Harper Hospital in Detroit. She earned her medical degree from Indiana University.
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