TMH Physician Receives Humanitarian Award

David Huang, MD, Receives 2024 I.B. Harrison, MD Humanitarian Award by Capital Medical Society

Pulmonary disease specialist David Y. Huang, MD, of TMH Physician Partners – Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep, was awarded the 2024 I.B. Harrison, MD Humanitarian Award by Capital Medical Society for his dedication to the humanitarian values of compassion, service, respect, wisdom and integrity, notably demonstrated by the late Dr. I.B. Harrison.

A Notable Start

Dr. Huang is board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine and sleep medicine. He was born in Taipei, Taiwan, but at the age of 4, his family came to the United States. They moved every few years before finding their long-term home in Plant City, Florida. Upon high school graduation, Dr. Huang traveled 140 miles north to Gainesville to attend the University of Florida. There, he earned his undergraduate degree in 1982 and his medical degree in 1985. He was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and to this day strives to live by their motto, “Be worthy to serve the suffering.”

It was in medical school where Dr. Huang met his first set of role models in medicine who guided his path to the pulmonary and critical care specialties. His exemplars at UF were Jay Block, MD, former chief of UF College of Medicine’s division of pulmonary and critical care medicine; Eloise Harman, MD, a pulmonologist and critical care medicine specialist; Ocie Harris, MD, UF College of Medicine professor, and later, dean of the FSU College of Medicine; and Gene Ryerson, MD, a professor of pulmonary medicine at UF.

With the positive influence from these leaders, Dr. Huang completed an internal medicine internship and residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. He subsequently completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at UF in 1992.

Dr. Huang Makes His Mark in Tallahassee

After fellowship, he moved to Tallahassee to join Tallahassee Pulmonary Clinic (TPC). Dr. Huang was the fifth physician to join the group. His early TPC partners, and next set of role models in medicine, were Clifton “Bud” Bailey, MD, J. Daniel “Dan” Davis, MD, F. Ray Dolly, MD, and Ken Wasson, MD. TPC was Dr. Huang’s first job. He credits his early partners for his professional growth and development.

Although the name of the practice has changed over the years and is now TMH Physician Partners - Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep, Dr. Huang and his colleagues’ commitment to delivering quality pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine care to their patients has never wavered. He truly values the camaraderie with his current practice partners: Bud Bailey, MD, John Thabes, MD, Carlos Campo MD, Muhanad Hasan, MD, Alberto Fernandez, MD, Ruby Williams, MD, Cybelle Pfeifer, MD, Anthony Otekeiwebia, MD, Andrea Venturini, MD and Zachary Stachura, MD.

Improving Patient Care

As medicine has evolved, Dr. Huang continues to elevate his craft by learning about new equipment and procedures. This open and hardworking mindset allows our communities’ patients the ability to get the latest procedures without having to travel to specialized medical centers. When he joined TPC, he used the latest video bronchoscope equipment. Later, he used the cardiopulmonary exercise testing, a metabolic exercise test that evaluates the heart and lungs and can diagnose unexplained shortness of breath.

To improve the treatment of pulmonary embolism in our community, he has served on the Anticoagulation Subcommittee at TMH and the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) to help develop protocols for massive and submassive pulmonary emboli. This has helped streamline and clarify treatment plans for patients regarding the need for advanced interventional cardiac procedures, such as Ekosonic Endovascular System (EKOS) or thrombectomies.

A Commitment to Our Community

Since the start of his career, Dr. Huang has had a particular interest in obstructive sleep apnea and sleep disorders, as well as a passion for improving the practice of sleep medicine in our community. With the encouragement from his practice partner, Dr. John Thabes, and from Dr. George Slade, Dr. Huang earned his board certification in sleep medicine in 1999. Soon after, Dr. Bud Bailey created HealthSouth Sleep Disorders Center of Tallahassee, where Dr. Huang served as medical director until its closure in 2007.

There was still a strong need for a large sleep medicine facility in Tallahassee. Dr. Huang, along with others, helped develop the Tallahassee Memorial Sleep Center in 2009, when it opened with just a few beds. It now has 12 beds and conducts 2,500 sleep studies each year.

Dr. Huang served as medical director of the Sleep Center from 2009 to 2018. He was pivotal in creating protocols needed for the facility and assisted in the facility’s accreditation and re-accreditation processes. He pioneered and advanced the sleep medicine subspecialty by hosting annual sleep symposiums, allowing many providers from all backgrounds to learn about sleep medicine. He extends his knowledge and passion outside of the healthcare community to give numerous lectures at Premier Health & Fitness Center, the Tallahassee Senior Center, Westminster Oaks, and other organizations.

Specializing in End-of-Life Care

Dr. Huang strongly believes that all patients should receive the primary palliative care they need, and that starts with educating and training healthcare professionals on end-of-life care. To further his knowledge and understanding on end-of-life care, he immersed himself in the Education for Physicians on End-of-Life Care (EPEC) project, developed by the American Medical Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. EPEC provides a core curriculum of basic knowledge and skills needed to appropriately care for dying patients.

Once Dr. Huang completed the curriculum, he was able to skillfully educate and train his colleagues. In his own words, “Learning about end-of-life care is just as important as any other part of medicine.” Due to this education, he has the ability to determine when end-of-life care is necessary. He is able to present information to families and loved ones that is easily understandable, while also listening to their concerns and offering them comfort. Dr. Huang’s friend and former practice partner, Dr. F. Ray Dolly said it best: “He has the compassion, skill, intellect, and determination to administer the right medical care even when it is difficult.”

Educating New Generations of Clinicians

In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Huang regularly supervises residents in their rotations through the ICU at TMH and serves on the Clinical Ethics Committee at TMH. He is also on the Clerkship Faculty at the Florida State University College of Medicine (FSU COM) Internal Medicine Residency Program at TMH and on Clerkship Faculty at the FSU COM Tallahassee Regional Campus. Furthermore, he has published several articles in specialty journals, including the “Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.”

Dr. Huang has dedicated his life to the practice of medicine. To him, the meaning of a successful life can be summed up by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, Success:

“What is success? To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Dr. Huang is a loving husband to his wife of 30 years, Brenda. They are proud parents to four adult children, Andrew (Misty), Eric, Brian and Helen. They also have two family dogs, Roy, a French Brittany Spaniel, and Gracie, a Black Mouth Cur. Many of his fondest memories revolve around his family - at home, on vacation, or at family reunions with his wife, their children, his parents and his siblings. Dr. Huang wholeheartedly lives by the words of Michael J. Fox, “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.”

In his spare time, Dr. Huang enjoys spending time with his family, and playing tennis and pickleball. In fact, Dr. Huang plays in Dr. Faisal Munasifi’s (2023 I.B. Harrison, M.D. Humanitarian Award recipient) Saturday morning pickleball group. As stated by Dr. Huang, “it’s my therapy!”

Dr. Huang tries to live every day with the values personified by Dr. I.B. Harrison: he is known for his compassionate care and respect for his patients, his service to the practice of medicine and his wisdom and integrity that inspire his fellow physicians.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Capital Medical Society congratulates Dr. David Huang. He is a true humanitarian in every sense of the word.

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Article provided courtesy of Capital Medical Society