Dr George Clyde Debnam, a Raleigh doctor who delivered 10,000 babies and fought for healthcare integration, died at 95. Let’s look at how Dr George Clyde Debnam broke and what caused his death.
What Happened to Dr George Clyde Debnam?
At the age of 95, Dr George Clyde Debnam died. He was recognised as one of Raleigh’s most well-known African-American physicians. Debnam’s obituary said he died on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
Dr George Clyde Debnam, Who was He?
Dr George Clyde Debnam was born to sharecroppers on November 5, 1927, in Youngsville, Franklin County. He moved to Raleigh as a 15-year-old after completing his secondary studies in Youngsville. Dr Debnam was a Raleigh, North Carolina native who moved away to attend Meharry Medical College and battle in the Korean War. He worked hard to promote healthcare, education, and social improvement in the Raleigh community.
Services:
Dr Debnam worked as a doctor in Raleigh for 50 years and six months. In addition to his practice, he supervised an extensive hospital practice and saw patients when they entered nursing homes. He provided high-quality treatment to hundreds of Raleigh-area residents, notably those in Southeast Raleigh and Wake County’s Fuquay and Holly Springs. Dr Debnam trained in family medicine and worked as a general practitioner, obstetrician, and surgeon for many years.
The governor of North Carolina acknowledged Dr George C. Debnam as the doctor who had delivered more than 10,000 babies in the state’s history. He also performed more than 5,000 procedures.
Dr Debnam began his career at Saint Agnes Hospital, Raleigh’s segregated facility for African Americans, and was the first doctor to admit patients to the newly integrated Wake Medical Center (then Wake Memorial Hospital) when it opened, demonstrating his pivotal role in the integration of Raleigh’s health care system. He is the final member of the founding Wake Health Center medical staff to leave and the last worker to have worked both at Saint Agnes and Wake Health Center.
Even though he retired from active practice in 2001, his twin daughters, Marie Georgette Debnam, MD, and Marjorie Lynnette Debnam, MD, who joined him in practice after finishing their internal medicine residency at the Harvard Medical School affiliated Cambridge Hospital in 1995, continue to carry on his legacy. As the firm expanded, it relocated to a new office space in 2013.
Books:
Dr Debnam was a self-taught historian interested in African-American history, World War II, musicology/hymnology, and other subjects. He was also a recognised author, having created books with compiled sayings and facts, such as “Good Clean Humor,” a compilation of church-appropriate jokes and anecdotes.
George C. Debnam, MD, was a self-made man who worked tirelessly for 50 years after graduating from college and medical school to care for God’s children and the community. His daughters, Marie Georgette Debnam, MD, and Marjorie Lynnette Debnam, MD, both of Raleigh, North Carolina, survive him, as do many nieces and nephews, other relatives, friends, neighbours, churchgoers, and Shaw University alums.
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