George Thompson, M.D.
2019 Hall of Fame
B.S. Physiology '66
George H. Thompson, M.D., is the Past-Director of Pediatric Orthopaedics at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedic Surgery and Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
He was raised in Oklahoma City and graduated from OSU in 1966, the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine in 1970 and did an orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of California Los Angeles medical center (1970-1972; 1974-1977). Following residency, he was a fellow in pediatric orthopaedic surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1978 and then joined the faculty at CWRU in 1979. He was the director of the division of pediatric orthopaedic Surgery from 1987 until 2019.
Currently he is the executive editor of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, the president and CEO of the SICOT Foundation, chair of the Shriner’s Hospital for Children Medical Advisory Board and the Scoliosis Research Society Historian. He is the immediate past president of the International Federation of Pediatric Orthopaedic Societies and SICOT-USA, the past president of the Ohio Orthopaedic Society, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, the SRS, and past deputy editor of Pediatric Orthopaedics of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery American.
He has received numerous awards including the UCLA Outstanding Surgical Intern Award, the American Orthopaedic Association North American Traveling Fellowship, the POSNA Arthur H. Huene Award, the SRS Lifetime Achievement Award, the UHCMC Distinguished Physician Award, and the POSNA Distinguished Achievement Award. He has had 175 visiting professorships or guest lectureships. He has published 193 peer-reviewed articles and 99 chapters in textbooks, and edited five textbooks. He has presented more than 1,000 regional, national and international lectures.
Although retired from clinical practice, Thompson remains very busy academically. His replacement at RBCH will hold the newly established George H. Thompson, M.D., Endowed Chair in pediatric orthopaedic surgery. Prior to retirement, he was chosen as an inaugural member of the POSNA Hall of Fame. He was also selected to lead the 2019 SRS Traveling Fellowship. Most recently he became the Interim Chief Medical Officer for Shriner’s Hospital for Children.
Thompson has been happily married to his wife, Janice ('67), for 52 years. They have four children and seven grandchildren. They are avid collectors of 18th and early 19th century American antiques and decorative art.