Medical professionals mourn physicians killed in shooting at Saint Francis Hospital
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On June 1, four individuals died in a shooting at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, including orthopedic surgeon, Preston J. Phillips, MD, and sports and internal medicine specialist, Stephanie J. Husen, DO.
An employee at Saint Francis Hospital for 17 years and emeritus board member of Saint Francis Health System, Phillips graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1990 and completed two fellowships at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston in 1986 and 1996, according to a release from Saint Francis Health System. Phillips had advanced degrees in organic chemistry and pharmacology, as well as theology from Emory University.
A member of the American Orthopaedic Association and the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society, Phillips had been preparing to go on his fifth mission trip to West Africa for the Light in the World Development Foundation, which he co-founded with Komi S. Folly, MD.
Originally from Ponca City, Oklahoma, Husen was a sports and internal medicine specialist with the Warren Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to the release. An employee at Saint Francis and Warren Clinic for 7 years, Husen graduated from Oklahoma State University Center for Health Services and completed her residency at Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina. Husen received her undergraduate degree at the University of Oklahoma, where she was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority.
Amanda Glenn, an employee at Saint Francis Hospital, and William Love, a visitor at the hospital, also died in the shooting.
Remembrances
It is not just to say that Dr. Preston Phillips was a great guy. I am looking for an English word that can be strong enough to specifically describe him, but I have not found it. He was someone with a lot of talent but, beyond that, he had such a big heart to lay his own life for other people. When we go to Togo, West Africa, we did all these orthopedic operations. People were so happy; these women who received knee replacements were extremely happy. To quote Dr. Phillips from one of the videos that I made when we came back from the first trip to Togo in 2016, he said, “A lot of people give money, which is good, but giving yourself is a gift that can be shared.” What he meant was that you do not have to have money to give yourself. You can give yourself to do good things no matter who you are. People talk about our work but, beyond that, he had another side that was bigger even than the work that we are doing. That side is somebody who lifts you up, somebody who will tell you the talent you have in yourself that you may not know, somebody who will encourage you. He does not have a limit of where he can go. He is everywhere, he is ready to help everybody to do the right things. Anything that is the right thing to do, give him a passport to do it. This is the kind of guy [he is] – a mentor who helps you, gives you advice, trying to change the dark to become the light, somebody who already inspired a lot of young people that we take on missions.
A few days before he died, he gave me the last instructions not to give up, not to stop. No matter how hard it will be, I will continue. I do not know if anybody can fit his shoes, though. This guy’s shoes were so big. So that is the guy we lost. Patients lost him, but I lost the other part of him. I lost a father, a mentor and a friend.
We are asking all who would like to carry on the legacy of Dr. Phillips and volunteer to serve the people of Togo to contact us, to give themselves as Dr. Phillips said. You may contact us via www.lightintheworlddf.org, info@lightintheworlddf.org or 539-777-2984.
Komi S. Folly, MD
President
Light in the World Development Foundation
Tulsa, Oklahoma
I knew Preston from the Scoliosis Research Society. He was a soft-spoken intellectual, always smiling and always had some unusual insight into whatever topic or case was being discussed. As one of the few Black spine surgeons in the country, he was a great role model to all who knew him.
The spine community has suffered a great loss.
Dheera Ananthakrishnan, MD
Assistant professor
Emory Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. Husen loved life. She had an infectious smile and approached life with passion and zest. She never met a stranger and had a gift of making every individual she interacted with feel valued and included. Dr. Husen loved being a physician and valued her relationships with patients. The same passionate love she had for her family and friends was palpable in all her interactions. She always found the fun.
Dedicated to helping others — whether actively rescuing Westies, volunteering at community sport events or comforting her friends with even the most trivial of life struggles — Dr. Husen was always there. When she made friends, they become your friends and this wonderful supporting network of caring people wanted to make a difference. When classes were tough, she found a way to make them enjoyable. When a patient was struggling, she treated them like a friend and was right beside them on their path to healing.
Dr. Husen was a hero not just because of her actions on June 1, 2022, to divert a gunman away from patients and office staff, but for all the little acts of compassion, empathy and kindness throughout her life.
Natasha Bray, DO
Dean (interim) Cherokee Nation Campus
Clinical associate professor
Associate dean of accreditation
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Dr. Husen was an outstanding physician, highly regarded by her peers, and the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association is deeply saddened by her passing. This is a terrible loss for the osteopathic community and a grave tragedy.
Oklahoma Osteopathic Association
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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In memory. https://www.saintfrancis.com/in-memory/. Published June 2022. Accessed June 13, 2022.
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