Posted on February 19, 2024
TidalHealth and its healthcare family deeply mourn the loss of Nevins Todd, MD, who passed on Sunday, Feb. 18 at the age of 92.
Dr. Todd was TidalHealth’s oldest living surgeon and the only doctor until his retirement in 2000 to personally know every surgeon to ever practice at the Salisbury hospital, including its first, Dr. J. McFadden Dick, who was hired on the one-year anniversary of the hospital in 1898.
Dr. Todd, a healthcare visionary, US Navy Veteran, and the grandson of the founder of TidalHealth (then Peninsula General Hospital) will forever be synonymous with a revolutionary change in medicine on the Delmarva Peninsula.
On May 15, 1974, in partnership tableside with Dr. Richard Hughes, Dr. Todd performed TidalHealth’s first open-heart surgery. No other community hospital in Maryland had ever done so before.
Dr. Todd’s legacy, however, extends well beyond a groundbreaking surgery that would set TidalHealth on its path to becoming the region’s premier tertiary hospital.
He’s remembered best as a true gentleman and fondly as a world-class cardiothoracic surgeon. Dr. Todd’s healthcare achievements and lifelong dedication and passion to his profession and patients earned him the Salisbury Award in 2000, the city’s most prestigious honor.
“Dr. Todd’s work ethic, integrity and passion for outstanding patient care continues to inspire us all to do our very best, every day, for every patient and family member we encounter,” said Jeanne Ruff, Senior Executive Director of TidalHealth’s Guerrieri Heart & Vascular Institute. “His vision was for us to be the comprehensive center for cardiovascular excellence on the Delmarva Peninsula, and it was my honor and privilege to have worked with this gentleman, to have learned from him and been a part of his vision.”
Nevins Todd was always “home” at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, where his son, Bill, still practices emergency medicine. It’s the same hospital his grandfather, George W. Todd, opened in a six-bedroom home in 1897 only a few blocks from where it stands today.
Dr. Todd was born in the same hospital his grandfather launched.
His undergraduate studies at Syracuse University led to his formal medical education at the University of Maryland Medical School. There, he also completed an internship and residency, and in the final year of his studies served as the Chief Resident of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Upon graduation, there was only one place Dr. Todd wanted to come and that was back home. He launched CV Surgical Associates, today TidalHealth Cardiovascular Surgery, and led the establishment of the open-heart surgery program in Salisbury.
He pursued it with great energy and persistence but quietly with the purpose of convincing all involved that it was a good idea. That was his method – educate and convince in the friendliest and kindest way possible.
“The tireless and selfless work of Dr. Todd helped TidalHealth Peninsula Regional to evolve into the outstanding tertiary care facility it is today, serving all of Delmarva,” added Dr. Steve Leonard, President/CEO of TidalHealth. “As we continue this evolution, the advancements we make are built on the foundation he laid, and for that we are forever grateful.”
It was his vision, and even at times his own financial backing, that brought the technology and the doctors to the region. He personally recruited each cardiothoracic surgeon to the program. When hospital leaders of the time balked at the purchase of the heart/lung machine necessary for the surgery, Dr. Todd bought it himself.
“His honesty and kindness brought me to Salisbury in 1979 to help him develop the cardiac surgery program,” said retired cardiothoracic surgeon Edward Klopp, MD. “His kindness and support never wavered. His dedication to TidalHealth and Salisbury never wavered. He always sought to support and improve his community in every way he could.”
It's no stretch to say the reputation and success of the entire cardiovascular service line at TidalHealth has grown upon the foundation established by Nevins Todd half a century ago.
When others doubted it could be done, Dr. Todd never wavered from finding the best way to get it done. Failure was never an option and second best not a part of his vocabulary.
He was a leader, too. Dr. Todd was Chief of Staff at the Salisbury hospital from 1974 to 1976. He also served as Chief of the Department of Surgery from 1982 to 1984. He inspired others to achieve their goals.
To his colleagues, he was affectionately known as “the senator” because of his wide popularity and his ability to get people to sit down and talk through issues and challenges.
“I had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Todd through the years,” said Dr. Peggy Naleppa, Immediate Past President/CEO of TidalHealth. “While small in stature, his legacy is that of a giant. God bless him.”
Already into his ninth decade of life, Dr. Todd published “Scrubbing In” 125 Years of Surgery at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional” in June of last year.
When he realized that no one before him had chronicled the history of surgery there, he launched a two-year labor of love to document it himself. “Having such a selection of exceptional men and women has been a privilege for the surgical program at our hospital,” he was quoted as saying when the book became available for sale.
He had previously authored “The Country Doctor,” a look at the life of his grandfather George as told through a journal kept by Nevins’ father. It’s a history he not only chronicled but also experienced.
The Hall of Heritage at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional features a photo of Dr. George W. Todd. It hangs proudly as a symbol of the hospital’s humble beginnings and as a tribute to a remarkable man.
Only steps away, fittingly, in the Guerrieri Heart and Vascular Institute is a portrait of Dr. Nevins Todd. He’s in scrubs, as most fondly remember him. It, too, hangs in tribute to another remarkable man.
Although decades apart in their devotion to patients, the grandfather and grandson will forever be inseparable in their lifelong and lasting contributions to the improvement of healthcare on the Delmarva Peninsula.
“To me, Nevins was the best mentor I could have hoped for. He exemplified those virtues of hard work and selfless dedication free of any tint of self-promotion. I will always be grateful for his guidance, his example, and most of all his friendship,” added Dr. Klopp.
It was a remarkable life lived.
Editor’s Note: We will keep our team and community updated on any information concerning Dr. Todd’s arrangements and services as it becomes available to us.