David Edward Brooke M.D. died on May 15th, 2023 in Lakeland, Florida. He was born on April 15th, 1932 in Sheerness, Kent, England and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire. His parents, Martha Ellen “Patricia” Brooke née Pocock and Albert Edward Harris Brooke, were repertory actors performing in plays throughout England. Dr. Brooke received his medical degree from University College Hospital, London University in 1955. Doing his National Service as a captain in the British Army he was based at the Colchester Military Hospital and put in charge of a primary medical care base for soldiers in Shoeburyness.
Tanzania, East Africa (1958-1971).
In 1958, as a young doctor, Dr. Brooke joined the British Colonial Service in
Tanganyika (now Tanzania). After Tanzanian independence, he served as a district
and regional medical officer in various regions of Tanzania as well as the cities of
Dodoma, Arusha and Dar es Salaam. His work involved clinical duties in all areas of
medicine, surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, anesthesia, and preventive medicine, as
well as administration.
Kenya, East Africa (1971-1977)
In 1971, Dr. Brooke became the Medical Director of the Flying Doctor Emergency
Service of the African Medical and Research Foundation currently known as
AMREF Flying Doctors based in Nairobi, Kenya. This involved administration,
medical education, clinical medicine, surgery, anesthesia, pediatrics, obstetrics,
gynecology and emergency care as well as rural health planning in Southern
Sudan, Mali, Botswana, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Tanzania and Malawi. Dr. Brooke
helped institute “africanization” of AMREF by employing Kenyan pilots, nurses and
doctors during these early years of Kenya’s independence. He was a consultant for
the World Health Organization (WHO) in Northern Sudan, served on the Executive
Committee of the Kenya Society for the Blind and was the former chairman of the
Leprosy Committee for Central Kenya.
North America (1977-2023)
Dr. Brooke immigrated to Manitoba, Canada in 1977, moving from medicine
in the underdeveloped world to highly technical medicine in the intensive care
unit of the Misericordia Hospital in Winnipeg. Emergency medicine seemed to be
the best path for him. After St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma, Washington he
became the Medical Director of the University Hospital Emergency Department in
Augusta, Georgia.
In 1986 he became the Medical Director of the Lakeland Regional Health
Medical Center (LRHMC) Emergency Department. Times were changing.
Emergency medicine became a specialty. He encouraged all the docs to do the
qualifying ACEP (American College of Emergency Physicians) board exam. He
brought in the first female ER doctors. He employed the first ER pediatricians. He
also brought in medical assistants. He helped institute triage. When he arrived,
the LRHMC Emergency Department saw about 35,000 patients – when he retired
this had increased to 110,000 patients per year. Today almost double that. ALL
board-certified ER physicians. The busiest emergency department in the country.
When he retired in 1999, he then became the first Medical Director of LVIM
(Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine).
To balance his life and stress level, he was a wood worker, building furniture. He
was a devoted birder wherever he lived. More importantly, he was an avid
supporter of Leeds United Football Club, no matter how good or bad. Like his
parents, in Africa he appeared in professional and amateur theater productions.
He had decided as a 10-year-old that he wanted to be a doctor. Look where it took
him. An incredible life. On top of it all, a delightful prankster with a marvelous
British sense of humor and a deep respect and care for all of us.
David is survived by his wife Gloria Brooke née Greenwood; his brother James
Brooke (Shirley); his daughters Victoria Brooke and Alexandra Troy (Nick); his
stepsons Samuel Meisler (Julie) and Joshua Meisler (Elodie); his nieces, nephews
and grandchildren.
Please send any contributions in David’s honor to Amref Health Africa.
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