LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson upon the
occasion of her designation as recipient of the 2009 Gold Medal Human
Service Award from Saint Cabrini Home on November 12, 2009

WHEREAS, It is the practice of this Legislative Body to take note of and
publicly acknowledge individuals of remarkable integrity and character
who have inspired and brought pride to our majestic Empire State with
their strong contributions to the community and model citizenship; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Dr.
Marie-Louise Tully Johnson upon the occasion of her designation as
recipient of the 2009 Gold Medal Human Service Award from Saint Cabrini
Home to be celebrated at a Gala Luncheon on Thursday, November 12, 2009,
at The Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, Poughkeepsie, New York; and
WHEREAS, The Gold Medal Awards Luncheon is held to recognize and honor
eminent men and women for their charitable and humanitarian efforts that
reflect the mission of Saint Cabrini Home, a non-profit human service
agency providing youth care services, and the philosophy of its foun-
dress, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson is a dermatologist whose
professional career in teaching, research, and patient care has spanned
over five decades; she first came to the Mid-Hudson area when she was
six weeks old, and made her debut in health care as a 13-year-old volun-
teer in the operating rooms of Benedictine Hospital; and
WHEREAS, Following graduation from Manhattanville College, she entered
Yale University and Yale Medical School, graduating in 1956 with both
her MD and her PhD degrees; she remained in New Haven for her clinical
training in internal medicine and dermatology; as a Yale faculty member,
she helped to establish the Department of Dermatology at Yale, and
served for one year as the Department's Acting Chairman; and
WHEREAS, In 1964, Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson was appointed by the
United States National Academy of Sciences to be the first dermatologist
to serve at the US-Japan Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) Insti-
tute in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and
WHEREAS, At the ABCC Institute, Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson
performed extensive research on the health effects experienced by survi-
vors of the atomic bombings in 1945 of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; in addi-
tion, she was a visiting professor at the Hiroshima University Medical
School and served as a consultant to Japanese dermatologists; her off-
hours intensive study of Japanese enabled her to communicate directly
with patients, students, and colleagues; and
WHEREAS, In 1967, Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson left Japan to become
Director of Dermatology Services at the New York University-Bellevue
Hospital, at that time the largest dermatology service in the United
States; and
WHEREAS, In 1971, she took a leave of absence to help in the transfor-
mation of the Dartmouth Medical School to an MD degree-granting institu-
tion; and
WHEREAS, In 1980, with the urgent pleading of Sister Mary Charles to
help regenerate the medical care system in the Mid-Hudson area, Dr.
Marie-Louise Tully Johnson resigned from NYU-Bellevue to become Vice
President for Medical Affairs at Benedictine Hospital; she was success-
ful in recruiting a dozen board certified physicians and surgeons to the
area and in helping to establish the Mid-Hudson Family Medicine residen-
cy program; and
WHEREAS, Also in that same year, Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson
returned to Yale as a Clinical Professor of Dermatology and established

a firm linkage between her practice in Kingston and the Yale Department
of Dermatology; and
WHEREAS, Due to difficulties in recruiting dermatologists to practice
in rural and semi-rural communities, in 2002, Dr. Marie-Louise Tully
Johnson decided to create a comprehensive skin center and to train her
own medical dermatologists to serve the Kingston region; and
WHEREAS, With Yale and the Institute for Family Health, she estab-
lished a training program for board certified primary care physicians to
become expert general dermatologists; this pioneering effort, the only
one in the United States and made possible with personal funds, helped
to meet the urgent need for dermatological services in rural and semi-
rural areas; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson's efforts are broadly recog-
nized; she has authored over 100 scientific publications in textbooks
and journals and has received many honors: among them, the first derma-
tologist elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Institute of
Medicine; first woman President of the American Dermatological Associ-
ation; first woman Master of Dermatology of the American Academy of
Dermatology; and for her international volunteer services to the poor,
the Papal Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, by John Paul II; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who
enhance the well-being and vitality of their community and have shown a
long and sustained commitment to excellence certainly have earned the
recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson upon the occasion of her desig-
nation as recipient of the 2009 Gold Medal Human Service Award from
Saint Cabrini Home; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Dr. Marie-Louise Tully Johnson.