On March 3, the last day seeing patients before his official retirement, pediatric cardiologist Joel Brenner got a special visit, from the very first seriously ill patient he had treated after moving to Baltimore in 1977. The former patient, now in his 40s, had undergone three heart surgeries by the age of 12 and recently discovered he was the world's longest survivor of a double heart replacement. He traveled from Cumberland, Maryland, to mark the occasion with a photo and a chat. “That makes it a complete circle of my professional life in Baltimore,” Brenner says.

After nearly 50 years, the former director of pediatric cardiology can look back on a successful long-term effort to expand the division and create a presence in communities around Maryland, driven by a simple principle: “You need to be where the kids are,” he says.

“The reality of health care, even specialty health care, is that convenience often overcomes quality,” says Brenner. “The pediatricians would ask, ‘Why don’t you open up an office here?’ They were inviting us to their home territories, and it became obvious we needed to do that. Our goal, of course, was to provide both convenient and quality care.” Some of his fondest memories are of driving around Maryland to set up pediatric cardiology services in places like Westminster, Hagerstown, Cumberland, Annapolis and Bel Air, he says.

Alongside that expansion, Brenner grew the Division of Pediatric Cardiology from five to 16 full-time cardiologists and built the trainee program from two to six fellows per year. “The best part of the whole process is that we all make each other better,” he says.

Brenner also focused on providing resources for his team that would go beyond his tenure, like the Kramer-Biegel Fund, which supports the educational advancement of trainees and junior faculty members, and the Sam Brenner Family Fund — established in honor of his late father — which explores ethics in pediatric care and supports the Child Life Program. Now, the Development Office at the Children’s Center has announced the establishment of an endowed fund to honor Brenner’s contribution to pediatric cardiac care and support the Blalock-Taussig-Thomas Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center, the culmination of his goal of coordinating cardiac services at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Several of Brenner’s most grateful patients and family members made significant gifts, contributing over $500,000 to establish this legacy gift that will last in perpetuity.

Recently, the mother of an 8-year-old patient asked about Brenner’s retirement plans. When he said he wasn’t sure, the boy piped up with a suggestion: He should work at Walmart.

“I looked at him and said, ‘Why do you think I should work at Walmart?’ And he said, ‘Because Mom and I go there all the time and that way I can still see you.’

“I think, to me, that typifies the feeling I try to create,” says Brenner. “I try to empower kids to have a voice, and I treasure the relationships with almost everyone I’ve cared for.”