In Memoriam: Brendan Kelly, MD

It is with tremendous sadness that we must announce the unexpected death of Dr. Brendan Kelly.  He served as the Associate Program Director of the Med-Peds Residency Program at Baystate Medical Center/Baystate Children’s Hospital since 1999. Brendan was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.

His teaching career began as a professional sailing instructor.  He was a second generation Irish American who visited the “Old Country” often and always had interesting stories to tell about his ancestors and his homeland. His enthusiasm was limitless, and he always had knowledge to impart, whether he was talking about unusual rashes or brands of whiskey.

Brendan’s accomplishments as an Associate Program Director for the Baystate Med-Peds program were many.  At the time of his passing, he was putting the finishing touches on an Alpha Omega Alpha – sponsored qualitative research project assessing Med-Peds Resident’s attitudes and experiences of professionalism.  He also taught a unique inter-disciplinary physical diagnosis class. Learners in this class included medical students, nursing students, PA students, NP students, and midwives. Brendan was also in his fourth year of teaching Introduction to Clinical Reasoning in Boston to 2nd year Tufts Students.

Brendan was the course director for the annual 3-day Practical Med-Peds Symposium– now in its 10th year– that united many Med-Peds program directors and faculty from all over the northeastern United States.

For all of those who were fortunate enough to know and work with Brendan, they will tell you first and foremost that Brendan always made them smile.  He was kind-hearted, witty, and very dedicated to his friends, colleagues, and learners.  His presence was truly larger than life.  He was a big man, with an even bigger heart.  He was a passionate teacher, a life-long learner and a dedicated mentor.  He will be dearly missed by everyone.  Brendan leaves behind a wife and four children ages 15, 13, 11, and 4.

The MPPDA Executive Committee is planning a memorial scholarship award in his honor, details to follow.  If you would like to leave a comment about Brendan below, we will forward these to his family.

Here is a message from Sam Borden regarding a trust set up for Brendan’s family:

“On behalf of Brendan’s family and all his colleagues at Baystate, Rochester, and elsewhere, I wanted to extend our sincere appreciation for everyone’s support and kind words.  I have a big ‘ask’ for our national organization.  Due to his pre-existing medical condition (Brendan shared with many the story of his SAH in 2006) he was unable to procure adequate Life Insurance.  We have established a Trust and 100% of all proceeds will go to his wife Lisa and their four children Duncan (15), Ian (13), Meghan (11) and Rowan (4).  Please consider donating to this Trust and being as generous as you can. Anyone who knew Brendan recognized how generous he was with his kindness, spirit, and humor, not to mention his superb abilities as an educator.  Please consider a gift of $1000.  Many may be able to give much more so dig deep.  Let’s take care of our colleague and friend.”

To contribute, you may send a check made out to “Brendan Kelly Family Memorial Trust”, c/o Berkshire Bank, 138 Longmeadow St. Longmeadow, MA 01106.  Here is a link to his online obituary:  Brendan Kelly Obituary