Dr. John Pope retires on Jan. 31, 2025.
Since joining Akron Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in 1998, John Pope, MD, has held additional roles that enabled him to make a bigger impact on our organization and our patient families. These other responsibilities allowed him to explore interests in areas such as medical ethics, teaching and global health. Yet he found his role as a pediatric intensivist, providing critical care to children during some of the most difficult times of their lives, to be the most rewarding and humbling.
As he prepares to retire on Jan. 31, 2025, Dr. Pope reflects on his career at Akron Children’s and the growth of our hospital over the last 26 years.
“It has been a privilege to work with such great people, and I have so many fond memories of my time here,” he said.
What brought you to Children’s? Who gave you your start?
I worked in the pediatric intensive care unit at MetroHealth for six years with Dr. Jim Besunder, who recently retired as the director of critical care at Akron Children’s. When Jim left MetroHealth to come here, I decided to join him. Growing up on the east side of Cleveland, I wasn’t that familiar with Akron Children’s. When I came for my interview, I felt like this hospital was a best-kept secret. There’s such a family feel. I knew I would stay after my first six months.
What was going on in your life then?
That was September 1998. My wife Sharon and I were raising our two sons, Shaun and Ryan, who were 10 and 8 at the time.
Dr. Pope, who served as director of the Office of Pediatric Global Health, completed several medical missions to Haiti
Have you always worked in the same department and role?
I have always been a pediatric intensivist in the PICU, also serving as associate medical director and medical director of transport. I developed an interest in bioethics in college and eventually served two six-year stints as the chair of our Ethics Committee. In 2017, Dr. Starla Martinez, who was the director of Medical Education, encouraged me to apply for that position. Although I spent my whole career teaching, this was something new for me. I was also director of the Office of Pediatric Global Health.
What sparked your interest in global health?
In 1999, I went to Romania to teach pediatric pharmacology since my fellowship was a combined fellowship in pediatric critical care and pediatric pharmacology. However, I really caught the bug in 2008. One of our chaplains, Father Patrick, led a medical mission to his native Ghana and I joined him. When a devastating earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, Dr. Jeff Kempf asked me to get involved and that led to multiple medical mission trips from 2010 to 2019. This sparked a love for the people there. Although the trips stopped in 2019 because of gang violence, there’s a collaboration with other hospitals that continues and we meet monthly to help. The Rotary Club of Akron donates money through Gift of Life/Haiti Cardiac Alliance to bring two children here each year for heart surgery.
As he prepares to retire, Dr. Pope was honored by friends and colleagues during one of his final shifts in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
What have been your biggest contributions at Akron Children’s?
I would have to say my biggest contribution is the patient care I provide in the PICU. Regardless of my other roles, it’s been important to me to continue to see patients, even if a smaller percentage of my time is devoted to patient care.
Other than new buildings and construction, how has Akron Children’s changed since you started here?
For me, the biggest thing has been the growth, especially in the PICU. In the beginning, it was easy to stay here while my kids were in school. At some point, I thought I might leave to go to a quaternary, high-tech center to gain exposure to ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and bone marrow transplants. All of that is here now.
What gave you the most satisfaction at work?
It is so gratifying to work with families and children who make it both enjoyable and humbling. Most of the kids we treat get better and go home. I also enjoy the challenge of more complex cases and putting together the puzzle regarding what is going on. Every child who we couldn’t save has touched me in some way and I still remember them. I think it’s important for families to know that.
What’s your most memorable and/or happiest moment at Akron Children’s?
I’ve served as the medical director of the Fresh Air Camp for children who have trachs or are ventilator-dependent. Many are also in wheelchairs. It really tickles me to see kids, who otherwise would never be able to do these types of activities, just get to be kids. They go swimming with a respiratory therapist who helps manage their breathing. A group of climbers helps them climb trees. They go horseback riding. They also perform in a talent show and attend a big dance like a prom.
With so many children here, did someone or something especially touch your heart?
Years ago, I treated a little girl who was about 4 or 5 with a muscle disease. She was on a ventilator and in a wheelchair when I met her. Now she is graduating from law school. She asked me to write a letter about her character for the bar exam, and I told her that is perfect because she was always such a character.
Dr. Pope (far right) with his family. Pictured from left to right are his son Ryan and his wife, Megan; son Shaun and his wife, Lauren; and wife Sharon.
What do you look forward to the most in retirement?
I like to travel and visit the national parks. Our youngest son and his wife are expecting a baby boy in January, so we will become grandparents for the first time. They live nearby in University Heights. My oldest son and his wife are in western North Carolina, so we look forward to more time to visit them.
Dr. Pope and his wife Sharon, who traveled to Finland, look forward to more opportunities for travel.
What’s your idea of a perfect day?
Going on a hike with my wife Sharon and then having a nice dinner is a perfect day for me. We spend a lot of time in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
What couldn’t you live without?
Books. I like to read and listen to audiobooks. The last book I read was Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson. I’m also reading the Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human.
Do you have any advice for people just starting at Akron Children’s?
This is advice I give to residents and I think it applies to everyone: Be happy. Enjoy your job. Taking care of kids is the best job in the world. Be humble. You will learn so much from your patient families.
