ATLANTA — James Shepherd, co-founder and chairman of the board of Atlanta's Shepherd Center, passed away at the age of 68 on Saturday morning, Dec. 21, 2019, surrounded by his loved ones, according to a statement from the hospital.
“This is an enormous loss for Shepherd Center and the community,” said Sarah Morrison, PT, MBA, MHA, president and CEO of Shepherd Center. “James was a dedicated and passionate advocate for people with disabilities. We will miss seeing him in the halls at Shepherd, during his visits with patients and staff, and most deeply, in our hearts.”
James, along with his parents Alana and the late Harold Shepherd, and David Apple, M.D., founded Shepherd Center after James sustained a paralyzing spinal cord injury in 1973. Frustrated by the lack of state-of-the-art rehabilitation care in the southeastern United States, the family galvanized support among the Atlanta community to open a facility in 1975 to provide specialized care for people with spinal cord injuries.
As Chairman of the Board of Directors, James Shepherd led the Center to become the preeminent center of excellence for care and research for patients and families experiencing spinal cord/brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spine and chronic pain, and other neuromuscular disorders.
Since its founding as a six-bed rehabilitation facility, it has since grown to a 152-bed hospital, which, according to its latest information, treats more than 900 inpatients, 540 day-program patients and more than 7,300 outpatients annually.
“For nearly 45 years, James devoted his life to ensuring our clinical teams could take the so-called impossible cases and help people put their lives back together,” Morrison said. “James often said that Shepherd Center was the bridge between ‘I can’t’ and ‘I can.’ Thanks to him, thousands of patients and families found a pathway to independence, hope and dignity. James was committed to doing everything in his power to rebuild the lives of the people in our care. There wasn’t a day that went by that you could not feel and see his influence.”
According to US News & World Report's annual rankings of best hospitals in the nation, the Shepherd Center ranks among the top 10 in the nation's top rehabilitation hospitals, a ranking they have held for the past 10 years.
James was an Atlanta native, graduating from the Westminster Schools and the University of Georgia.
Throughout the hospital’s history, James worked to improve accessibility and opportunity for people with disabilities. He regularly communicated with community leaders, legislators and the news media to increase public awareness. And he toured groups through Shepherd Center, spoke to community organizations, and made advocates and donors of the many people he reached.
On both the state and national levels, James made tremendous contributions to providing exceptional healthcare for people with spinal cord and brain injuries.
His contributions were recognized with numerous awards, including a national award for distinguished public service from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and an honorary doctorate from the University of Georgia – both of which also recognized his parents’ contributions.
James actively served on numerous boards and committees to further education and research to benefit people with disabilities.
He was an active volunteer in the community, having volunteered on the accessibility advisory committees of MARTA, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the Georgia World Congress Center and the Georgia Dome.
Shepherd Center officials said memorial service details are being finalized and will be shared as soon as they become available.
They ask that the family's privacy be respected, however, for those who wish to express their condolences, please email condolences@shepherd.org, so that they may be shared with the Shepherd family at a later date.
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