Hartzell Schaff, MD was born in Holdenville, a small rural town in southeast Oklahoma, to a stern general surgeon father Hartzell V. Schaff, Sr., and his wife Ruth. A student-athlete and scholar, Hartzell went to the University of Oklahoma for his undergraduate studies and then stayed there for medical school where he was valedictorian of his class. Dr. Schaff then went east to the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital for his surgical training. There he developed a reputation for being quiet, hard-working, dedicated, and excellent both academically and clinically. While at Johns Hopkins, he researched myocardial protection and coauthored with Dr. Timothy Gardner's articles on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion and postoperative autotransfusion.
Once his training was completed in 1980, Dr. Schaff was recruited by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where he rose to be chief who was reputed to be fair and data-driven. As a leader, he promoted the priorities of the division over himself and also sought to advance the careers of young collaborating surgeons. He advocated for the creation of an independent department of cardiovascular surgery which came into being.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES (Speaking, Spoken, and Authored)