John Meyers, MD: Steering the Future of Health Care Delivery

Herbert M. Dean, MD, FACP

Brooklyn born john (jack) meyers arrived in Worcester in 1936 during his 4th year of medical school at Boston University Medical school and was sent to St. Vincent Hospital in recognition of his achievements and at the request of the hospital for interns. It was there that he completed his medical training and met John Fallon, Chief of Surgery, who would influence his medical career.

Finishing his training in 1938, he set up a solo practice in the former Standish Hotel on Main Street and married Ann McCann, a St. Vincent nurse. 1942 proved a significant year with the birth of his daughter Arlene (Lian) and his entering the US Air Force as a Captain stationed in Texas, where he was involved in aviation medicine research, including high altitude sickness and oxygen deprivation in flight. Upon discharge from the military in 1945, he was recruited by Baylor University of Medicine to join the school and continue his research in flight physiology. Unexpectedly, John Fallon arrived and enticed him to join his surgical-oriented practice located at 10 Institute Road in Worcester.

With the unexpected death of John Fallon in 1952, Meyers, along with the other 3 employed physicians, purchased the Fallon Clinic, and the concept of a multispecialty group practice similar to Mayo Clinic was born. Meyers and his colleagues, James Brosnan, a cardiologist and also Chief of Medicine at St. Vincent, John Manning, surgeon, and M. Elizabeth Fletcher, radiologist (both Manning and Fletcher were Mayo Clinic trained physicians), provided coordinated care, diagnostic lab and x-ray services on-site, as well as access to the use of a single medical record.

The practice recruited other physicians to expand medical services and outgrew its space. The 10-member physician group, led by John Meyers as its President, built a new state-of-the-art facility overlooking

Lake Quinsigamond on Plantation Street. At the same time, the 290-highway extension was built through Fallon property with a Plantation Street exit providing patients and referrals by solo practitioners throughout Worcester County easy access to the Clinic.

Dr. Meyers maintained a large referral practice based on his reputation as a skillful internist and his warmth and compassion with his patients. As his administrative responsibilities grew, he successfully transferred appropriate patients to his new associates. His day began making rounds at 6 AM at St. Vincent and he was back in his office by 8 AM, seeing as many as 30 to 40 patients. He brought home a box full of records to complete in the evening and often had evening meetings related to clinic business, including recruitment of new doctors.

The Fallon Clinic grew with new doctors attracted by the egalitarian environment of a physician directed organization, which offered them benefits including resources needed to carry out their specialties, shared patient coverage, the opportunity to become partners after two years, and encouragement to participate in administrative duties, including election to the Board of Directors. Dr. Meyers was reelected and served as President of Fallon Clinic through his tenure at Fallon.

In July 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law and the demand by the underserved population of those 65 and older for healthcare services led to an explosive need for access to medical care now with a financing mechanism to pay for it. Health care remained fragmented and health care costs exploded, surpassing inflation and consuming close to 20% of the country’s gross national product. Seeing the need and an opportunity to improve healthcare delivery, Dr. Meyers in 1977, working with Blue Cross, formed the Fallon Community Health Plan. FCHP became the first federally approved Senior Plan HMO in Central MA, with the financing of health care services provided on a capitation basis rather than the traditional fee for service.

He served as President of FCHP for eight years and saw managed care as a means through coordination of care with an emphasis on health education, preventive health initiatives such as cancer screening, smoking cessation programs, chronic disease management, and employing best practice models and guidelines as the means to control health care inflation and provide optimal care for patients – the right care, at the right time, and at the right cost.

Because Blue Cross went on to form its own HMO, it withdrew its relationship with FCHP soon after its creation. By 1984, the Fallon Clinic had over 30 locations throughout central Massachusetts, close to 300 physicians in the group practice, and FCHP had over 225,000 enrollees. He retired from practice in 1986 but continued to engage in health care issues such as patient drug compliance and improving medical access for seniors.

Dr. Meyers somehow found time for non-medical pursuits, and his primary focus was steadfast devotion to his family and grandchildren. He enjoyed classical music, including opera, gardening in his “spare time,” photography and he was recognized as an accomplished sculptor. His sculptural pieces are featured in local churches and synagogues, as well as gifts to colleagues. His sculpture of Dr. Lamar Soutter, the first Chancellor at UMass Medical School, adorns the entry to the medical school library.

His numerous accomplishments in health care were recognized nationally and locally. In 1983 he received the National Medical Executive Award by the American College of Medical Group Administrators. In 1987, he received Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degrees from UMass and from Anna Maria College in 1989. His interest in improving the delivery of health care through primary care initiatives was formally recognized by the creation of the Meyers Primary Care Institute in 1996, a joint venture by UMass Medical School, Fallon Clinic, and FCHP.