John Turner Chard, M.D., founding partner of Orthopedic Associates of Brattleboro in Vermont, passed away at the age of 90 on April 8, 2023.
Founder of Orthopedic Associates of Brattleboro Dies at 90

Chard served patients at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Brattleboro, Vermont, for 46 years as an orthopedic surgeon.
He earned his medical degree from Cornell University Medical School in New York City in 1958. Afterwards, he did his surgical residency program at the University of Rochester from 1958 to 1960.
After returning from military service, Chard came back to the University of Rochester to complete his orthopedic surgery residency between 1963 and 1966. While there, he served as chief resident.
Chard was certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery in 1968 and became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1969. He also served as president of the Vermont State Medical Society in 1999.
Chard was born on May 9, 1932, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Roland Turner and Kathleen Cottell Chard. He graduated from Princeton University in 1954 with a degree in electrical engineering before beginning his medical education.
He and his wife Senator Nancy Chard raised three children together. They were married on August 31, 1961, in Athens, Greece while he was serving in the U.S. Air Force as a captain at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. He was stationed there between 1959 and 1962.
Chard was very dedicated to his local community in Brattleboro and the state. He was a member of the local school board, Brattleboro Development Review Board, and served as the attending physician at many sporting events at Brattleboro Union High School.
Chard is survived by his sister, Susan Iger; his sister-in-law Jean Chard; his daughter, Sara Chard; his son Joshua Chard and his wife Heather Cutting Chard; and his son Burtis Chard.
He also leaves behind his grandchildren, Victoria Pease, Nicholas Pease, John Pease, Jackson Chard and Rachel Chard, and his great-grandson, Bradley Pease.
He was predeceased by his wife and his brother, David Edward Chard.

Discussion
This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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