Norman Johanson, Former Chief of Orthopedics at Hahnemann, Dies At 72

Norman A. Johanson, M.D., retired chief of orthopedics at Hahnemann University Hospital, passed away at the age of 72 on Sunday, July 3, at his home on Tilghman Island, Maryland, from complications of diabetes. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes seven years ago.

Johanson was the chairman of orthopedics at Hahnemann from 2000 until the hospital closed in 2019. Prior to this, he was a professor of orthopedic surgery and program director for 10 years at Temple University’s School of Medicine, now the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.

Respected for both his technical skill and his compassion, he made a deep impression on all his colleagues.

One former colleague told The Philadelphia Inquirer, “When we are faced with a tough case or patient, we all ask ourselves: ‘What would Norm do?’ It is the highest compliment you could give a doctor.”

Johanson believed it was his mission to help disadvantaged patients and even helped a woman organize a fundraiser to pay for her surgery.

Dr. John Fontaine, a clinical electrophysiologist who practiced at Hahnemann during Dr. Johanson’s tenure there told the Philadelphia Orthopedic Society: “[Norm was] a kind, compassionate, and caring physician, who was a true champion of the needy and disenfranchised, seeking a higher quality of life.”

Johanson first started his practice at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Throughout his career, he was the author of a multitude of medical papers and won several awards, including the 1978 T. Campbell Thompson Prize in orthopedic surgery from the Cornell University Medical College, now the Weill Medical College; the 2010 Sir John Charnley Award from the Arthritis Foundation in Philadelphia, and the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Hospital for Special Surgery.

He was also active with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, Hip Society, and Philadelphia Orthopaedic Society.

Johanson was born June 16, 1950, in Greenwich, Connecticut to his parents, Wilbur Carl Johanson, an architect and artist, and Joy Segerstrom Johanson.

He ran track and field at Greenwich High School and at the 1968 state championship he set a high school record with a pole vault of 12 feet and 3 inches.

He continued his love of sports in college when he played football and studied biology and art history at Trinity College in Connecticut. When he graduated in 1972, he went on to Cornell University where he earned his medical degree in 1978.

In 1975, he married Brenda Crispell, a nurse he met while they were both working at Columbia University and together they raised a son Erik and daughters Kendra, Grace and Elise. They first lived in Nyack, New York and then later moved the family to Ardmore, Rosemont, Wynnewood and Narberth.

Finally, they bought a house on Tilghman Island in the Chesapeake. Even as a young boy, he loved the water and shared his passion for sailing with his family. He is survived by his wife, children, 5 grandchildren, a brother, and a sister.