Submitted by kmcochran on
This past Saturday we lost a legend who committed his life to the expert care of infants in North Carolina but nationally. Dr. Ross Vaughan died on January 4th. For forty years Dr. Vaughan helped anchor NICU care at WakeMed. When he began working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit there he was on port and starboard call (every other night), with another North Carolina neonatal legend Dr. Jim Thullen, and every other weekend for nine years, until an additional physician was added. The WakeMed NICU was very small then, therapeutic options were limited, and they only provided intervention to babies who were at least 28 week gestation and weighed more than two pounds. In those days, most moms didn’t get steroids in advance of delivery to help with lung maturity, and there was no surfactant for babies so respiratory problems were much more severe. It was a very different ime, truly pioneer days for neonatology.
Dr. Vaughan was acutely aware of the variation in neonatal practices that were occurring within this growing specialty of neonatology. He joined the PQCNC State Leadership Team in 2007. He served with us until his retirement from practice in 2015. He was a key guide as PQCNC charted its course in those early days.
Dr. Vaughan, we thank you for your service and dedication to neonatal care in WakeMed, Wake County and the state of North Carolina. You left your mark on your mentees, your co-workers, NICU staff and thousands of babies across the state of North Carolina.
Godspeed Ross, you will be sorely missed.