Helsley-Johnson Funeral Home, Inc.
James (Jim) David Felsen, MD, MPH (82) of Great Cacapon, WV, passed away November 26, 2024 while prepping for his favorite holiday of the year. Jim is preceded in death by his parents, Irwin Felsen, MD and Nell (Shaffer) Felsen, RN. Jim is survived by his best friend and soulmate Terri Bliziotes, her daughter Emily Bliziotes, and his three children, Heather (Elliot) Billian, Josh (Christina) Felsen, and Jeremy Felsen. He is also survived by his cherished grandchildren, Lucy, Kate, and Owen Felsen. Jim had four siblings which he loved dearly Mary Ann Pritchett (Vern), John (JoAnn) Felsen, Karl (Carol) Felsen, and Joe (Florence Ann) Felsen - each of them brought a host of talented and passionate contributors to a better and healthier world - which made him proud. He left behind his dog Sarge (AKA George) - who wore him out with demands for continuous belly rubs.
Jim was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and then graduated from Wellsville High School, Wellsville, NY where his parents settled and where his father influenced his life profession as a physician and public health professional. Jim attended Brandeis University, and, after only three years of undergraduate study was admitted to Medical School at SUNY Buffalo (66), later completing his Master's in Public Health (MPH) degree at Harvard University - Chan School of Public Health.
He started his career with the Indian Health Service on the Hualapai (Peach Springs, Ariz.) making house calls on horseback, down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and then later at the San Carlos Apache Reservation. He was named the Chief Medical Officer for Indian Health Service and was transferred to Silver Spring, MD, hoping to only be there a couple of years. His 17 years with the Indian Health Service is where he determined his career focus would be population health and working in the public health policy arena.
Jim remained in Maryland for many years advising on and developing many national and international health programs. He was a trusted advisor and friend to C. Everett Koop, Surgeon General especially during the AIDS epidemic. He advised Jimmy and Rosaland Carter on the refugee crisis in Thailand and visited India to improve the primary care and public health systems there, as well. Jim became a delegate for the American Medical Association and continued his advocacy in the AMA for over 40 years. Since 2000, Jim has been an active delegate for the West Virginia State Medical Association. A strong advocate for physicians in private practice; he was highly critical of corporate medicine.
Jim's last assignment in the PHS was to resuscitate a 13-million-dollar moribund program known as the Federal Occupational Health Program (FOH). It had been defunded by Congress as a part of the government reorganization effort during the Reagan years. Its legislative purpose was to assure federal employees were healthy in their jobs. The FOH program had dwindled to a few Federal Court health clinics where monitoring blood pressures and health education were the limits of the care offered. In five years, Jim led the transformation of the FOH program - by designing an information system capable of tracking employee exposure to lead, pesticides, substances, immunization status, mandated federal health exams, etc., across any agency an employee may move to during a career. Through his leadership he ushered in Employee Assistance, Industrial Hygiene, Fitness, and Daycare programs, and started the first national Medical Review Officer Program office for drug testing. The "NEW" FOH program generated over sixty million dollars in reimbursable services from billing agencies directly for what they needed to maintain a healthy, productive workforce. It was such a successful model; it was written up in the Government Executive Magazine as a success story for the Clinton Administration and Gore's government improvement initiatives. Jim settled in West Virginia in 2000. He served as the Kanawha- Charleston Health Director - until the politics and tobacco issues of the time presented. Wise policy and wide-spread local community acceptance were overruled by special interests and political influencers. Jim and Terri moved north to Great Cacapon, WV in 2012, where Jim remained active with the AMA/WVSMA, wrote numerous op eds for the Charleston Gazette, and continued to advocate for change in community-based elder care, strong immunization policy, cannabis policy, and a host of other plagues to our health.
Jim authored "De-Spamming Health Reforming the Health System from the Bottom Up: The Unintended Consequences of the Lack of Local Community Health System Autonomy and Integration". Jim advocated for community leaders to take a more active and systematic role in assessing and demanding what healthcare is needed for their community - rather than just accepting the government handout - which was often not needed, fragmented, limited, or redundantly wasteful.
Jim was always highly regarded and trusted by most everyone he met. He was funny, adventurous, and loving. He did not like to waste a day. He was an avid cook - something he and Terri shared with everyone who visited. He loved spending time at the cabin and discussing complex health issues with anyone who would dare to engage! He would want everyone to remember the wisdom and beauty of these Wordsworth's words....
What through the radiance which was so bright
Be now forever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind....
A celebration of Jim's life is planned for late May at the cabin.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.helsleyjohnsonfh.com.
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