Rheumatology Research Foundation Lecture Dedicated to the Memory of Dr. Joseph Flood

Joseph Flood, MD, FACP, MACR, MAPLAR, believed that rheumatology is more than just a field of medicine, that it is a community of people with a shared passion and a shared commitment to care for their patients and for each other.

Dr. Flood, who passed away in July 2023, demonstrated his commitment to that belief throughout his long and distinguished career, according to Marcy Bolster, MD, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who will honor Dr. Flood during a special lecture at ACR Convergence 2024. Rheumatology Research Foundation Lecture to Memorialize Dr. Joseph Flood — Empowering Rheumatology Professionals: Advancing Rheumatology! will take place on Monday, Nov. 18, from 3–4 p.m. ET in Room 145AB of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The session will be available on demand within 48 hours for registered ACR Convergence 2024 participants.

“Dr. Flood demonstrated, in so many different ways, the impact that one individual can have on our specialty, and he serves as a tremendous example of how we should all aspire to participate, even in small ways, to continue to develop and foster the sense of community that was so important to him,” Dr. Bolster said. “Like so many of us can attest to, I am thankful for the impact that Dr. Flood had on me personally and professionally, and I am grateful for the opportunity to honor his legacy.”

In addition to his clinical work at Columbus Arthritis Center in Ohio, Dr. Flood was a clinical professor of medicine at The Ohio State University (OSU), where he received the Distinguished Educator Award and was inducted into the university’s Courage to Teach Society. He also served on the OSU College of Medicine Committee on Admissions for more than 30 years. Dr. Flood created, and served for many years as the leader of, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center’s Rheumatology Clinic, and somehow also found time to serve as needed with the Columbus Medical Association’s Free Clinic.

Throughout his career, Dr. Flood worked in service to the ACR in a variety of roles, chairing and serving on numerous committees and serving as ACR President in 2013–2014. Among his many contributions, he was instrumental in the establishment of the ACR’s political action committee, RheumPAC, representing rheumatology professionals and their patients and engaging professional representation in federal policy.

In her address to ACR Convergence 2024 attendees, Dr. Bolster will share memories of her relationship with Dr. Flood, as well as tributes from some of the many people whose lives he touched.

“I’ve learned a lot about Dr. Flood from the thoughts people have shared with me with regard to the impact he had on their lives and career development,” she said. “He was tremendously respected as a clinician and as an educator, and he was loved for the personal touch he brought to everything he did.”

Honoring Dr. Flood’s legacy is not just about looking back, Dr. Bolster said, but it is, importantly, about looking toward the future, as he did, and working together to advance the field of rheumatology and to continue to improve the lives of patients and the rheumatology community that cares for them.

“With a gracious approach and enthusiasm for rheumatology practice, he touched the lives and the careers of his many friends, colleagues, and students, as well as the lives of many, many patients,” Dr. Bolster said. “When we look at the ongoing challenges facing us, we need to look no further than to the great example Dr. Flood set for the ways we think about and approach our work, attracting students into our field, our care for our patients, and volunteerism. There is no better way to honor Dr. Flood than for us to take the baton and carry his legacy forward.”