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Saturday, June 13, 2009
Administrator Served as Presbyterian's Vice President
By Lloyd Jojola
Journal Staff Writer
John Glass was administrator for Carrie Tingley Hospital, directed the North Central New Mexico Comprehensive Health Planning Council and served as a vice president for Presbyterian Medical Services during his long career.
"He was the first hospital administrator at Carrie Tingley (then located in Truth or Consequences) to recommend that the hospital be moved to a more urban location with resources for the kids," said Nancy Glass, his daughter. "It took many years before that actually happened, but he was the first one to do that."
John Glass died May 30 at his home in Santa Fe. He was 84.
A funeral service took place June 5 at St. Bede's Episcopal Church in Santa Fe. Graveside services followed at Fairview Cemetery in Albuquerque.
Glass' career in the health care field began in 1955, when he joined the Presbyterian Hospital staff and set up the hospital's personnel and public relations program, a past Journal story reads.
He took a yearlong absence and earned a master's degree in hospital administration from the University of Minnesota.
Glass was an assistant hospital administrator at Presbyterian until 1962, when he was named administrator of Carrie Tingley. He served in that position until 1968.
When federal legislation aimed at comprehensive health care planning came about, money became available for states to develop regional health planning councils, Nancy Glass said.
"He was hired by Presbyterian Medical Services of the Southwest — not the hospital — to basically write the grant to develop a council," she said.
Glass created and directed the North Central New Mexico Comprehensive Health Planning Council (NorCHAP) — a nonprofit funded by the government to provide comprehensive health planning in several northern counties.
"That was his favorite," Nancy Glass said about that council effort. "That's where he thought the best work was done. He loved it.
"He liked the interaction with all the different people. He liked the fact that folks were trying to coordinate things, be more efficient, get services to people. He just had fun with it."
Glass directed NorCHAP until 1976.
After serving briefly as a private industry consultant, Glass was named a vice president at Presbyterian Medical Services in 1977. He retired in 1990.
Born in Baltimore, Md., John Strider Glass earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He served briefly in the Army — stateside — at the end of World War II.
Chronic health problems led him to search for a more suitable environment.
"He decided he wanted out of the damp climate in the East and he looked at Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Albuquerque and sort of threw a dart and came to Albuquerque in 1950," Nancy Glass said.
"It was dry. That's what brought him here."
Glass lived at the YMCA near the old Alvarado Hotel for about three months. His first job was with the city of Albuquerque, working as an engineer, before he landed a job at Sandia Base. Glass went to work for the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project on the base as a salary and wage administrator, reads a past news story.
Glass, in the story, said it was his friend Ray Woodham at Presbyterian Hospital that initially piqued his interest in hospital administration and the health care field.
Glass met his wife, Margaret, while at Sandia — she was a civilian statistician.
"When he saw her, he said, that's who he was going to marry, and he did," Nancy Glass said.
The couple were married in 1952. Mrs. Glass, who had battled health problems, died a day before their four-year anniversary, when Nancy Glass was a little more than 2 years old.
John Glass didn't remarry — not that he didn't have the chance, his daughter said.
"He said he had always been married to my mom."
After retiring, Glass remained informally active in the health care field. He sometimes fired off letters to the editor, voicing his opinion on industry issues.
Glass had grow up during the Big Band era and was a lover of Dixieland jazz. He played golf and enjoyed his travels, among them a trip to Europe when he turned 80 and a pass through the Panama Canal.
"Photography was another big interest," his daughter said. "His focus was birds, particularly water birds and sea birds. You could take him to the ocean in Oregon ... and he could be on a cliff taking pictures of waves for hours."
Glass was also an active member of St. Bede's Episcopal Church. During the wake and funeral and graveside services, a jazz band was to play.
"He enjoyed life, lived it to its fullest," Nancy Glass said. "And he is one who always believed in celebrations. So that's what the next few days are going to be."
Glass is survived by his daughter, Nancy Glass of Salem, Ore., and Neil McKay; cousins Robert Hess of Fairfax, Va., and Joseph Hess of Tiburon, Calif.; brother-in-law, Robert Ewing of Brentwood, Tenn.; nephew, Fredric Ewing, and his wife, Vanessa Ewing, also of Brentwood and their children Kimberly Ewing Owen and Michael Ewing; niece, Janet Ewing of Brentwood; and Ralph, his faithful dog.
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