FEATURE
I could do it. I developed the course with a philosopher, Professor
Richard Barber who came and taught with me. This way, the class
had an expert in medicine and an expert in philosophy, and I think
we did a pretty good job,” Dr. Keeney remembered.
With her children now fully grown and her ethics program
established, Dr. Keeney went back to residency to begin a second
career as a child psychiatrist. It’s in this capacity that many physicians
remember her practice, which began in the early 1980s.
“Completing a psychiatry residency in her 50s was another
courageous decision by her,” said Dr. Heyburn. “Don’t forget: we’re
talking about the UofL General Hospital. The psychiatry section
included padded rooms, examining patients with manic breaks
and schizophrenia. She was out there with 20-somethings just
entering residency.”
“Initially, I wanted to work in geriatrics,” Dr. Keeney said. “At
the time, there was no training course in Louisville for geriatrics.
Instead, I went with my second choice of child psychiatry, and I
loved it. Every now and then, a very special child would come along.
There was one child who was very hard to deal with, but he had a
good ending. He called me a few years ago and said, “This is so and
so. I’m a social worker, and I’m helping kids just like me now.’ That
really made me feel good.”
been on the forefront of helping blind adults and children find new
ways to participate in life and move forward for so long,” she said.
“I think she’s touched some of Louisville’s most important com-
ponents of health care in just a volunteer capacity,” Dr. Heyburn
said. “Things that have been near and dear to her throughout her
whole life. Whether it’s been her service at the board level of the Red
Cross or the Printing House for the Blind, or those early community
service drives, she’s impacted so many.”
Her place on these boards was not for show, and often she di-
rected changes that would have lasting impact. For example, during
Dr. Keeney’s time as JCMS/GLMS Ethics Committee Chair, the
committee created the “Do Not Resuscitate Form” which is still
distributed statewide to this day.
“That was while we were on the committee together,” said Dr.
Isaacs. “It was her idea to create this paper which people could keep
at home and tear off the bracelet which was attached. From there,
Psychiatrist Dr. David Casey had the opportunity to meet Dr.
Keeney, first as a medical student and later as a colleague at the
Bingham Child Guidance Clinic (now just the Bingham Clinic).
“My first impression of Dr. Keeney was that she was a very elegant,
intelligent, cultured person,” he said. “There are a handful of people
who really led the way around here. She’s one of them.”
Dr. Leah Dickstein, a close friend of Dr. Keeney’s, worked with
her in the field of psychiatry for many years as well. “Dr. Keeney is
a very special person. She came from a different time, a different
lifestyle. But, she was always very caring and wise. Everyone at the
Bingham Clinic admired her as did the patients and their families.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Keeney remained a director of the
UofL School of Medicine ethics and humanities program and an
associate professor of psychiatry. Her psychiatry training was com-
pleted in 1984, and she practiced until her retirement in 2004.
While this is in no way an encyclopedic summary of Dr. Keeney’s
work, here are just a few of the other offices she’s held throughout her
career: past-president of the Kentucky Academy of Child Psychiatry,
former chair of the Louisville Chapter of the American Red Cross,
past-president of the Downtown YWCA (now the Center for Women
and Families), a lifetime Board member of the Buckhorn Children’s
Home, the first female physician appointed to the Kentucky Board of
Medical Licensure, life member of the Louisville Orchestra Board,
and the first woman to serve on the American Printing House for
the Blind Board of Trustees. The latter in particular is a source of
great pride for Dr. Keeney.
“The Printing House for the Blind is a wonderful place. They’ve
the form became legislated, and its available for download today
as a part of living wills.”
Unfortunately, Arthur Keeney died in 1996 due to complications
from carcinoma of the parotid gland. He left behind his wife, three
children, five grandchildren, more than 150 published articles, three
books and a legacy that will live for generations to come.
“Art was fortunate to have married her,” said Dr. Morris Weiss,
Louisville historian. “I think she kept him balanced. She’s a strong
personality, smart and ahead of her time. She’s one of our amazing
citizens of the last century.”
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MAY 2019
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