In Memoriam: Dr. John Luce, Pulmonary and Critical Care Leader at ZSFG

Dear Colleagues,

On July 2, a long-standing and beloved DOM colleague and leader at ZSFG, John M. Luce, MD, passed away. He was 84 years old.

John, a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician, not only excelled in medicine but also in other fields, including journalism, bioethics, and law. This breadth of skills and interests allowed him to make unique contributions at the intersection of these disciplines. Having grown up in San Francisco, he attended Stanford University and later worked as a journalist, freelance writer, and press secretary for a variety of political campaigns in California. After considering a career in law, he ultimately became more interested in medicine as a way to help people.

After completing additional science classes, John entered medical school at UCSF at age 28, the second-oldest student in his class. He completed his medical residency at the University of Colorado and a pulmonary and critical care fellowship at the University of Washington. In 1981, just as the first cases of AIDS were being reported, John and his wife, Judy Luce, a medical oncologist, returned to UCSF. He rapidly became a leader, locally and internationally, in caring for AIDS patients with respiratory disease, authoring scores of research papers and lending his pulmonary and ICU expertise to the development of the nation’s first inpatient unit for AIDS patients.

Over the subsequent 28 years at UCSF and ZSFG, John attended in the medical and surgical intensive care units, carried out clinical research on acute respiratory distress syndrome, and held numerous leadership roles, including as ZSFG's Chief Medical Officer and its Medical Director of Quality, Utilization, and Risk Management. He also served on the board of the SFGH Foundation. 

Throughout his career, John developed a deep interest in medical decision-making at the end of life. He wrote academic articles in high-impact medical journals, law journals, and textbooks advocating for the rights of patients at the end of life and the importance of shared decision-making for critically ill patients in the ICU. His compelling interest in these topics led him to complete a master’s degree in law at UC Law San Francisco.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Judy, and his two children. We were fortunate to have had John as a colleague, clinician, and administrator in the Department of Medicine, as well as a leader and voice for critically ill patients worldwide. 

Read more about John here: legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/john-luce-obituary

Sincerely,

Neil Powe
Vice Chair and Chief of Medicine, ZSFG

Brian Graham
Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, ZSFG

Courtney Broaddus
Past Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, ZSFG

Bob Wachter
Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine