COO Michael H. Boblitz, the first and only administrative leader at Charlottesville-based University of Virginia Health System Orthopedics, is retiring in December after 47 years.
Mr. Boblitz joined UVA in 1977 as a research assistant. In his early career, he was an occupational therapist and focused on hand and upper extremity injury patients. He told Becker's in 2018 about the transformations he's seen within the department over the years.
"One of the first chairs of the department, Dr. Warren Stamp, obtained permission to do total joint replacements here and we developed a joint replacement program," he said. "Since then, we've had a very active research arm and developed the department with the idea of translational research being a key aspect of the program. Taking a clinical issue people are concerned about, bringing it to the lab to find a solution and then implementing it in the clinical environment is critical in advancing our patient care."
During his tenure, Mr. Boblitz, who was named COO in 2009, oversaw several major initiatives within UVA's orthopedic program.
He developed the McCue Center for sports medicine and performance, which set a trend among other universities, his son, Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic CEO Michael C. Boblitz, told Becker's. UVA's Mr. Boblitz also helped expand the health system's brand and contracted with Harrisonburg, Va.-based James Madison University to provide care.
Mr. Boblitz was also on the forefront of outpatient orthopedic care and spearheaded UVA at Fontaine, a de novo campus. More recently he oversaw the construction of the $200 million Orthopedic Hospital at Ivy, which his son said was a decadelong endeavor from start to finish.
"Now places all over the country are trying to copy the model," the younger Mr. Boblitz said. "It's an awesome facility, and it's really set up UVA for success for decades to come."
Mr. Boblitz also played an influential role in his son's career in orthopedic leadership. Three values Michael C. Boblitz said his dad taught him is to always treat people with respect, work hard and never settle.
"He works hard and just loves what he does, and he's taught me to do the same and aim for more and continue to make the organization better," he said.