Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

October 22, 2016

Joseph Lee Garvey, Jr. M.D., who was a caregiver in every sense of the word, died October 22, 2016. While Lee's professional achievements are staggering, the light of his life was his family. He married his college sweetheart, Katherine (Kate) Seeberg Garvey, whom he met while he was a student at the University of Notre Dame. He delighted in the close relationships he had with each of his three daughters, Annie Garvey Clarke (Charlie), Caitlin Moira Garvey and Molly Brigid Garvey. His "girls" cherished him in turn. They loved his sense of humor, his insight, his ability to guide without dictating, and the humorous drawings he included on every birthday card. Lee was a complete pushover for his granddaughter, Caroline Elizabeth Clarke, who will turn two on the day he is buried. She was undoubtedly the greatest joy of his later years.

Lee was born May 31, 1957 in Warren, Ohio, and was the son of Joseph Lee and Bernadette Geary Garvey. He graduated from ND in 1979 and did his doctoral and medical studies at the University of Cincinnati. His family moved to Charlotte in '88 when he began his residency in Emergency Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. Lee elected to stay on at CMC and always referred to it as "the perfect job," although he was glad when the night shifts ended. During his tenure at CMC he served in numerous roles including Director of Resident Research, Director of Emergency Cardiac Care, and most recently Vice-Chairman. In these roles he led vital efforts to improve the early treatment of patients with heart attacks, blood clots in the lung and with severe infections. He also spearheaded novel initiatives to prevent patients from being readmitted to the hospital.

In addition to being an exceptional leader, Lee was also an accomplished educator and scientist. He was a pioneer in the emerging field of emergency medicine, and his work was transformative in the care of acutely ill cardiac patients. Amongst his many contributions to academic emergency medicine, two stand out. The first was the recognition that paramedics could diagnose heart attacks in the field and reliably activate cardiac catheterization teams to open blocked heart arteries within minutes of hospital arrival, saving many lives. Based upon his promotion of paramedics in cardiac care, a second major contribution involved the development of teams that spanned the entire episode of care from emergency dispatch call to emergency hospital treatment, and brought together physicians, hospitals and emergency medical services around systematic and pre-specified regional plans. Lee was revered and respected for these efforts, whether teaching medics in the Mecklenburg EMS Agency (MEDIC) training facility or leading teams of nurses, physicians and hospitals in rural North Carolina, New York City or Germany.

Lee leaves a legacy of great works that continue to touch thousands of lives. He was a founder and lifetime board member of the Society for Chest Pain Centers, the leading cardiac care accreditation organization in the US, applying best practices and quality measurement in over 1,000 hospitals. He co-founded the NC Regional Approach to Cardiovascular Emergencies, a model of coordinated and collaborative emergency cardiac care that treats 10,000 patients per year in North Carolina, and has served as a national and international model of emergency cardiovascular care. He published 44 peer-reviewed manuscripts including the hallmark work on pre-hospital 12-lead electrocardiography programs as part of the National Heart Attack Alert Program of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Most recently, he assumed Chairmanship of the American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline emergency cardiovascular care program and he published the positive results of his collaborative project in 16 metropolitan regions across the US that encompassed 25,000 heart attack patients treated in 400 hospitals by 1,200 EMS agencies over two years, one-quarter of all heart attack patients included in national registries.

Lee's most treasured time as a physician was the two weeks he spent in Waveland, MS after Hurricane Katrina, treating patients in a parking lot. He loved practicing medicine without paperwork and strict protocols. He called it "real emergency medicine." However, he came home not talking about the medicine, but about the people. In his words, "The medicine in a lot of ways was secondary. Every single person had a story, and they were all anxious and willing to share them. Unbelievable stories. I'll eventually have a hard time remembering exactly what the blown down houses/debris looked like, but I expect the images that I will retain will be of the faces of the people I got to meet there." Lee was also deployed with Carolinas MED-1 to Columbus, IN during the flood of 2008 and went with Team Rubicon to Nepal after the April 2015 earthquake.

Perhaps the most striking feature of this magnificent career is that you would learn none of these things from Lee. He would much rather promote and mentor those around him than step even momentarily into the spotlight himself. He would prefer to tell you how much he loved his family, coveted his profession, and valued the ability to make a difference.

His brilliance, his tenacious pursuit of excellence, his passion for teaching both learners and his colleagues, his dedication to community and to those in need, and most important - his eternal commitment to treating every one of his emergency department patients with dignity, respect and compassion will be missed by all. Our patients, our community, and the House of Medicine are all much better off because of Dr. Lee Garvey.

Lee liked to say that he practiced family medicine on the side. Calm, reassuring, a figure of wisdom, gentleness and quick wit, he was the beloved brother of Moira Garvey Apperson (Thomas) of New York, NY, Keelin Garvey O'Neill (James) of Shaker Heights, OH and Michael S. Garvey (Jeanette) of Canfield, OH. His many nieces and nephews have adopted his mantra of "Garvin' around," which means the art of doing nothing - a skill Lee perfected during his time off. Lee was cherished by his in-laws, Bill and Mary Ann Seeberg, who counted him as one of their own. His brother-in-law, Dan Seeberg (Susan), was Lee's college roommate. Brothers-in-law, Mark (Patty), Bill (Paula), Jim (Colleen) and Tom (Mary) and sister-in-law, Gina, will miss him terribly.

Lee Garvey was a quiet, gentle, unassuming man of incredible talents. He was a caring person, a healer, a guide. He enriched our lives. We are blessed to have traveled part of the journey with him.

A funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, October 27 at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Gabriel Catholic Church. The family will receive friends following the service at the church. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, given his passion for research and teaching, Dr. Garvey's family is inviting friends and colleagues to make a donation to the Emergency Medicine Research & Education Fund, c/o Carolinas Healthcare Foundation, 208 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203, or online at www.givecarolinas.org.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Avenue, Charlotte, 704-641-7606. Condolences may be left online at www.kennethpoeservices.com.