J. Richard Gaintner
A native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dr. J. Richard (“Dick”) Gaintner received his undergraduate education at Lehigh University and his M.D. degree four years later in 1962 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Following residency in medicine at the University Hospitals of Cleveland, he served as Captain in the US Army Medical Corps, first at the Army Hospital in Fort Carson, Colorado, and then as Assistant Chief of Staff at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon, receiving in 1966 the Army Commendation Medal for “Meritorious Service in the Republic of Vietnam.” He returned to Hopkins for a year as Fellow in Hematology and then, in 1967, joined the first faculty of the newly-established University of Connecticut School of Medicine. In 1975, he became Vice President for Medical Affairs at New Britain General Hospital. This experience, combining the context of medical practice, its teaching and administration, led to his appointment...