Once a Leader, Always a Leader

From his first day as a 16-year-old working the stock room at Addison Gilbert Hospital to his last as president of The Miriam Hospital some five decades later, it’s been quite the ride for Arthur Sampson.

“My job was to deliver the supplies doctors and nurses needed to care for patients—talk about being important from day one,” he jokes. “I just fell in love with the hospital environment and knew then it was where I was meant to be.”

While Arthur’s retirement at the end of 2020 wasn’t a surprise—he had announced his intentions months earlier—how The Miriam family honored its outgoing president sure caught him off guard.

Behind the scenes, foundation chair Susan Kaplan, and Miriam stalwarts Alan Litwin and Ed Feldstein put in motion a plan that would ultimately honor Arthur’s legacy in more ways than one.

Recognizing his commitment to leadership, mentorship and professional development, the hospital’s donor community generously established The Arthur J. Sampson Endowed Fund to provide tuition assistance annually to a Miriam employee pursuing an advanced degree, such as a MPH, MHA, or MBA.

The goal was to collectively raise $25,000 to create the scholarship fund. But when all was said and done, the total hit $70,000. “I don’t know that there’s a better way to honor Arthur than to pay forward in retirement what meant so much to him throughout his career, and that is lifting up others,” says Susan. “Arthur is truly one-of-a-kind, and this fund is one more way his impact on The Miriam will be felt for years to come.”

Further proof of what Arthur meant to The Miriam now adorns the intersection of Fifth Street and Summit Avenue: a street sign proclaiming Arthur J. Sampson Square. The area was aptly renamed after the hospital’s volunteer leadership presented the idea to local Councilwomen Helen Anthony and Nirva LaFortune, and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza.

“I didn’t see that coming, at all,” says Arthur with a smile. “I am so humbled by that sign. Everyone wants to go see it and take pictures with me— it’s kind of taken on a life of its own.”

Although his days are now filled with house projects instead of meetings, being a strong leader is forever ingrained in Arthur’s DNA.

“It is incredibly important to me to help educate and train the next generation of leaders,” he says. “This is a field that is increasingly complex, but if you push people to strive for perfection, you’ll always end up with excellence and that is the absolute definition of The Miriam Hospital.”