Longtime HTM professional and advocate David P. Harrington died on September 27, 2018 at the age of 77. His peers remember him as a man who loved to teach and help others which lead to him working with Mother Teresa in 1993.
Harrington worked in medical engineering at New England Medical Center for many years, taught biomedical engineering at the Franklin Institute for two decades as well as at Wentworth, MIT, TUFTS and B.U., according to an obituary published in the Milford Daily News.
“He was also very involved in the biomedical community, locally, nationally and internationally, had published over 100 articles and had worked with Mother Teresa while in India,” according to the newspaper.
He is remembered by his colleagues and peers as a dedicated professional who shared his knowledge via his writings and years as an instructor.
“Dave was a dedicated member of the HTM community, sharing his vast experience and wit in everything that he touched, including the articles I remember reading in the ACCE News! He will be greatly missed,” Huntington Hospital Director of Clinical Technology Izabella Gieras, MS, MBA, CCE, FACCE, said.
“I met Dave in 1991 when we were both on the faculty of the first ACCE/WHO/PAHO Advanced Clinical Engineering Workshop in Boston for about 50 clinical engineers from all over the world,” recalls Frank Painter, Healthcare Technology Consultant and University of Connecticut professor. “Dave loved to teach and had been all over the world teaching about medical equipment technology, maintenance and management. He spent quite a bit of time working with a medical equipment refurbishing company who sent containers of refurbished medical equipment to hospitals in countries with few resources. On one of the trips Dave got to work with Mother Teresa at the hospital she established in India.”
Painter, who is also a past-president of the American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE), said Harrington found many ways to give back to his profession.
“Dave was active on so many levels in the clinical engineering profession. He was an outstanding director of clinical engineering at Tuffs Medical Center in the Boston area. He was active in ACCE, being a regular contributor to the ACCE News for longer than any other member. It seemed that Dave rarely missed a meeting of the New England Society of Clinical Engineering, even as recently as the NESCE 2018 spring meeting Dave came to encourage and speak with as many members as he could. Dave was active and visible in the profession his whole life. This is the thing that impressed me the most about Dave Harrington.”
In short, Dave Harrington was the real deal.
“Dr. Harrington was a real role model. He was an active participant, a prolific writer, a dedicated educator, a true professional and a very nice person who gave of himself to the end. There are few who worked for others as much as Dave did,” Painter added. “He will be missed.”
The family asks that ,in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to the Medway Fire & EMS Association, 44 Milford St., Medway, MA 02053.