Obituaries

Robert "Bob" Lehmberg

Photo of Robert "Bob" Lehmberg
ROBERT "BOB" LEHMBERG, MD died with his wife, Jennifer O'Brien, at his side, her hand in his in the early hours of Jan. 19, 2017. Born on Oct. 16, 1947, to Seth Ward Lehmberg, MD and Rose Mary Lehmberg (both deceased) in Taylor, Texas, Bob got his first summer job as a hospital orderly at age 18. He knew immediately he was meant to care for patients and continued the job while earning his bachelor's from the University of Texas. During medical school, at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Bob was immediately drawn to surgical specialties. His work during a rotation on the plastic surgery service at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, earned him a residency. He completed preceptor training under Al Blue, MD, in Seattle in 1978, and a fellowship focusing on reconstructive surgery of the hand at the University of Colorado in 1979. In that same year, Bob relocated to Little Rock where he practiced classic plastic and reconstructive surgery meaning trauma, burns, congenital anomalies, hand surgery, breast reconstruction following mastectomy and microsurgery. He became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1983, later achieved board certification in plastic and reconstructive surgery. In 1998, he was appointed chief of surgery at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock, board chairman at Columbia Doctors Hospital in Little Rock, and Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery in the Department of Surgery at UAMS, where he taught for five years. From 1982 to 1989, Bob served on the hand surgery staff for the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. In 2007, in the prime of his surgical career when a neck injury prevented him from operating, he retrained in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He did a preceptorship with Reed Thompson, MD and completed his Palliative Medicine fellowship training under the leadership of Sara Beth Harrington, MD at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and UAMS in 2008. He became board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine and joined the UAMS faculty as an Assistant Professor. While Bob loved being a plastic surgeon, in hospice and palliative medicine he "felt like he became the physician he was always meant to be." At UAMS and the VA he helped train many physicians in the unique specialty and interdisciplinary team approach necessary to care for patients and families with struggling with serious illness and end-of-life care. In addition to his wife, Jennifer O'Brien, he is survived by his sister, Rosemary Lehmberg of Austin, brother and sister-in-law, Philip and Bette Lehmberg of Houston, nieces Laura Lehmberg of Houston and Jennifer Lehmberg, MD, of St. Louis, MO. Special thanks to Joseph Beck, MD and Laura Hutchins, MD for their care during Bob's illness and to Mary Howell, MD and Stephen Hathcock, MD who were his hospice physicians. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, Jan. 28 at 11 a.m., Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Little Rock. In lieu of flowers or food, please make a contribution to Robert Lehmberg, MD Palliative Care Educational Fund at the WPRCI Foundation, UAMS Slot #508, 4301 W. Markham Little Rock, Ark. 72205. Arrangments are by Ruebel Funeral Home. www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.

Published January 22, 2017

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