The Department of Ophthalmology has its roots in California’s Gold Rush, which catapulted San Francisco into becoming the first metropolis in the West. Administering to the needs of this new frontier, Dr. Elias Cooper established the “Eye, Ear and Orthopaedic Infirmary” in San Francisco and founded the first medical school west of the Mississippi in 1859 with a charter from the University of the Pacific. That school became the precursor of the Department of Ophthalmology, which is accredited to California Pacific Medical Center, along with the medical schools of both Stanford University and the University of California.

Viennese trained Dr. Adolph Barkan was appointed as the first professor of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology in 1872. Trauma was common and there were no local anesthetics available for cataract removal and no medical therapies for glaucoma or retinal detachment. By 1912, cocaine and procaine were available as local anesthetics and the first ophthalmic drugs had been introduced along with important advancement in cataract and glaucoma surgeries. The slit-lamp, an essential tool today, was invented in 1911.

The first 4 chairmen of the Department had received their ophthalmology training in Vienna. The fifth chair, Dr. A. Edward Maumenee, trained in the United States at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital. One of the greats in the world of ophthalmology, Maumenee was named Chair in 1948 and although his tenure was a little more than 5 years, he represented a new world of ophthalmology, bringing with him a mass of different ideas and refreshing approaches which sometimes clashed with the teachings of the Viennese school. During his tenure he served as a charismatic local and national leader, surgical innovator, and educator. He returned to Johns Hopkins in 1955 as Director of the Wilmer Institute, leaving behind a lasting imprint on the San Francisco residency.

In the late fifties, the Stanford Medical School relocated from San Francisco to Palo Alto. Stanford’s departure precipitated a crisis for the Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Jerome Bettman assumed leadership of the Department of Ophthalmology in 1958, along with the burden of preserving its very survival during extraordinarily turbulent times. Every member of the Department of Ophthalmology except one resisted moving some 40 miles away, electing instead to create a new department which would operate untethered from a medical school, and dependent upon volunteer teachers. Stanford removed all equipment and medicines, leaving the building as an empty shell, also stipulating that those remaining in San Francisco could not solicit funds for support.

“I needed an entire clinic equipped, but could not pay a penny for it,” wrote Bettman. The faculty advertised for clinic patients and created alliances with other hospitals to provide surgical teaching opportunities, including Highland Hospital in Oakland, the University of California, Mt Zion, and Children’s Hospitals. Today the department remains affiliated with Highland Hospital and Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco has become a long-time partner.

Excellence in clinical teaching saved the day and remains a hallmark of the department. Working without salaries, the volunteer faculty gave continuing education courses on every subject that might attract ophthalmologists, managing to turn a profit to support their department, thereby augmenting the rigorous training program, enabling them to educate generations of clinicians and leaders.

A key partner in service was added in 1959 when the Lions Eye Foundation of Northern California, added their financial support to provide care for needy patients. Today, the residents and attending community volunteer ophthalmologists work smoothly together at the Lions Eye Clinic to provide thousands of free sight-saving treatments every year.

Stanford Hospital evolved into the Presbyterian Medical Center thanks to a network of affiliations and financial support from a variety of community resources. A key figure in the creation of the new medical center was Dr. Arthur Jampolsky, a leading pediatric ophthalmologist and visionary research scientist, who was named Chair of the Department in 1966. Importantly, he also co-founded the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, which has maintained a collaborative association with the Department of Ophthalmology since its inception.

In 1971, Dr. Bruce Spivey was recruited from the University of Iowa to serve as Department Chair. A Vietnam veteran who had served as a triage officer in a battlefield hospital, leading to his lasting commitment to service, he had also achieved a master’s degree in Medical Education. This qualified him to serve concurrently as Dean of the School of Medical Sciences at the University of the Pacific, which was seeking to become a full-fledged medical school.

Although plans for a medical school were not realized, a new Presbyterian Hospital opened in 1973 and the Department of Ophthalmology flourished under Spivey’s strong leadership.  Full time teachers, basic scientists, and researchers combined with a part-time well-experienced clinical voluntary faculty. Notably at that time, 25% of hospital admissions were ophthalmology patients.

In 1976, Presbyterian Hospital found itself in financial distress and Spivey’s career path turned more complex as he was appointed President and CEO of the entire facility, in addition to his role as Chair of Ophthalmology.

In 1977, Spivey’s strong administrative skills led to his appointment as the founding CEO/EVP of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In that same year, he founded the Pacific Vision Foundation (PVF), the philanthropic arm of the CPMC Department of Ophthalmology. In the mid-eighties he led the revitalization of the International Council of Ophthalmology, serving as both Secretary General and President. He was also named CEO of the California Healthcare System.

Dr. Robert Stamper succeeded Spivey in 1986 as Department Chair, as Spivey continued in his growing administrative roles at the medical center. Stamper strengthened the faculty, focused on raising endowment funds for Pacific Vision Foundation to support the residency and began the process of renovating the clinic’s facility at 2340 Clay Street. Stamper was also successful in convincing the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) to grant full voting rights to the residency program, previously denied due to the program’s lack of affiliation with a medical school.

During Stamper’s tenure the hospital underwent a difficult retrenchment and abruptly cut back financial support for the ophthalmology residency program. As faculty salaries were discontinued, some professors chose to leave while others were welcomed into the practices of fellow teachers, all dedicated to the survival of the residency program. Once again, it was the efforts of volunteer clinician teachers, augmented by funds provided by Pacific Vision Foundation’s fundraising efforts, which would prove to be extremely helpful in keeping the department viable.

Dr. William Stewart, an alumnus of the department, became Chair in 1996, and completed the renovation of the Lions Eye Clinic. He faced the challenges of transitioning to a new form of academically oriented eye care and looked to rediscover the culture of superior healthcare, volunteerism, philanthropy along with a commitment to education, clinical research, and community service.

Stewart was instrumental in creating the Ophthalmology Leadership Committee and the Core Faculty Group as governing bodies for the Department and successfully managed a financial re-organization. Working closely with the Lions Eye Foundation, he described the relationship between the Department, Lions and Pacific Vision Foundation as so intimate and intertwined that the Department’s well-being is inseparable from each organization.

Dr. Susan Day, an alumna of the residency program became Chair of the Department in 2000 as Dr. Stewart went on to found and serve as the Medical Director of the Institute for Health and Healing which today is recognized for its vital role in Sutter Health’s medical programs.

Prior to becoming Chair, Dr. Day had also served as Program Director, a dual responsibility she held throughout her tenure.  Day infused the department with passion and energy, working to bring the voluntary faculty together to provide a unique, community-based clinical training program. Residents gain experience during rotations served at the Lions Eye Clinic, Highland Hospital in Oakland, San Francisco’s Kaiser Hospital, and through individual mentoring in the private practices of faculty sub-specialists.

Active in national activities, Dr. Day served as the first woman President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology as well as serving as President of the American Ophthalmological Society and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and Board Chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).  She also provided critical support during the foundation of The Pacific Vision Eye Institute before leaving to work for the ACGME, where she eventually became president and CEO of ACGME International.

Dr. Kevin Denny, also an alumnus of the department, was formally selected as Chair in 2016.   Under Denny’s leadership, the CPMC Department of Ophthalmology, with generous support from the Lions Foundation and Pacific Vision Foundation built a new facility named The Pacific Vision Eye Institute (PVEI). PVEI would consolidate several vital features of the residency program into one central location, including many of the private practices of the teaching faculty, the Lions Eye resident clinic, an education center for resident education, the Ophthalmic Diagnostic Services office, and an ambulatory surgery center.