FEATURE
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one of the pediatricians who was working with her. The Keeneys to
me were larger than life, and everyone was impressed by the work
Virginia Keeney did. She got the respect she deserved, always.”
The Louisville initiative lasted from 1961 to 1963 and was a re-
sounding success, inoculating 87 percent of the population within
two years.
“If you can help a child, you’ve helped a whole life,” Dr. Keeney
said. “I was proud to take on that responsibility.” For many Lou-
isvillians, the oral polio vaccine was their first introduction to Dr.
Keeney. She made quite the impression, even on her own children
helicopter.’ The program was a relief to parents and to kids who
didn’t have to get shots. To many people, the oral vaccine seemed
too good to be true, but it was true.”
The family fondly remembers what a great spokesperson older
son Steven Keeney was in this effort. When asked on live television
what it was like to take the vaccine, he smiled and said, "Just like
eating a sugar cube."
“Steven contributed much to the vaccination effort simply by
being so comfortable and having this reaction which will always be
remembered,” Dr. Heyburn said. “You can’t take for granted how
remarkable this was. There hadn’t been a mass vaccination before,
and the population was unsure of it. But, they saw our mom let her
children take it on television and thought, ‘I should let my children
do that too.’”
It’s important to note that during the polio vaccination program
she also served as Chairman of the Young Women’s Christian As-
sociation Board. In 1964, a separate organization known as the
Younger Women’s Club of Louisville named Arthur and Virginia
Keeney joint Citizen Laureates of Louisville, an honor that had
never occurred before.
“She was especially proud to be named Citizen Laureate along-
side her husband. In her thinking, that was really groundbreaking,”
said Dr. Heyburn.
Dr. Keeney was really making a name for herself. However,
her life was to change yet again. The Keeneys left Louisville once
more, this time for the Philadelphia neighborhood of Chestnut Hill
which they’d call home for eight years. This took place because Art
Keeney was named Ophthalmologist-in-Chief of Wills Eye Hospital
in Philadelphia.
Virginia adapted quickly to her new surroundings. She joined
the staff of Temple University, developing medical ethics and hu-
manities curriculum. “I was lucky to be there at the very beginning
as medical ethics were introduced,” she said.
Impressively, ethics curriculum development was only a part
time job. In the afternoons, Dr. Keeney was a docent at the Phila-
delphia Museum of Art, meaning she took guests of the museum
from exhibit to exhibit and explained them in detail. She took off
on Friday’s to be there when her children were home from school.
“Mom got yanked out of Louisville, but she made the most of
it. The Philly Museum of Art is a major institute for the people of
Philadelphia. My mom was there explaining fine art,” said Doug
Keeney. “She always said, ‘If you’re a stranger in a town, you don’t
sit back. You go out and do.’”
in some cases.
“One of my most vivid early childhood memories,” recalled Doug
Keeney, “was a helicopter coming to pick up my mother. She’d land in
parking lots of stores or churches to help with vaccine distribution.
I remember thinking as a wide-eyed kid, ‘Wow, my mom is on that
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
In 1973, the Keeneys were pulled back to Louisville. This time,
it was because Arthur Keeney was made Dean of the UofL School
of Medicine.
“When we came back to Louisville, the students wanted a medical
ethics program like the one I’d worked on in Philadelphia. I knew