Garth Fredric Essig, Sr. (September 19, 1935 – April 13, 2016) was born in Longmont, Colorado and grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, son of the late Dr. J. Fred and Bertha Essig. He completed his undergraduate education at DePauw University and graduated from medical school at The Ohio State University (1961).
Essig was an obstetrician and gynecologist for nearly 50 years at The Ohio State University Medical Center where he dedicated his life to medical education and clinical medicine. He notably served as student clerkship director for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1970 to 2012, orienting nearly 9,000 medical students and shaping them into the physicians they are today.
Essig was also chair of Medical Information Management for 16 years and chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and chief of staff-elect and chief of staff from 2001-2005 of the Medical Center.
Essig was a champion of patient care and had a busy general practice while supervising resident clinics and participating in the night and weekend staff coverage for the Emergency Department and in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Essig received many awards for his service in medical education, including: Professor of the Year (1973); Senior Class Advisor (1973, 1974 and 1984); Acting Chairman of OB/GYN (1973-1974); Senior Class Teaching Award (1981, 1982, 1985, 1988 and 2007); Excellence in Teaching Award from The College of Medicine (2002); College of Medicine Alumni Achievement Award (2002); and, College of Medicine Distinguished Educator Award (2003).
Essig had seven children, Erik, Kurt, Gretchen, Christina, Christopher, Garth, Jr., and Elisabeth.
The Garth F. Essig, Sr, MD Papers (2.5 linear feet) contains material related to Dr. Essig and his medical career.
This collection is arranged in three series:
Series I: Media (5 boxes) contains 2”x2” slides, audio cassette tapes, and lantern slides. This series is arranged by type of media.
Series II: Personal (1 file) contains Dr. Essig’s obituary.
Series III: Professional (2 files) contains information related to Dr. Essig’s work at Ohio State.
The collection is open to the public and is available for viewing in the Medical Heritage Center. Materials do not circulate and must be used in the supervised reading room. Restrictions, including copyright, may exist and some materials may be too fragile to photocopy or digitize. The MHC charges for duplication services, which must be performed by staff.
[Identification of item], Garth F. Essig, Sr., MD Papers, SPEC.201621.ESSIG, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.