John Yu
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John Yu | |
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Born | 余森美 12 December 1934 Nanking, China |
Nationality | Australian |
Education | Fort Street High School |
Medical career | |
Field | Paediatrics |
Institutions | Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children |
John Samuel Yu AC, FRACP (Chinese: 余森美; pinyin: Yú Sēnměi; born 12 December 1934) is an Australian paediatrics doctor who served as CEO of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children from 1979 until 1997. He was the Australian of the Year for 1996.
Early life and education
Born in Nanking (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province), China, he attended Fort Street High School and the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia.[1] John Yu discovered his passion for paediatric care and after starting work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in 1961 now called the New Children's Hospital, he eventually rose to become Head of Medicine in the hospital and later Chief Executive in 1979.[2]
Career and later life
He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at the time of its relocation from inner-city Camperdown to Westmead in western Sydney in 1995 (The hospital now uses the name The Children's Hospital at Westmead in addition to its official title), and served as the chancellor of the University of New South Wales from 2000 to 2005.[3]
He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 and was named Australian of the Year in 1996.[4][5] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2001.[6]
Yu, as CEO of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, publicly supported a bill introduced by Alan Corbett in the New South Wales Legislative Council to protect children from abuse and excessive physical chastisement. The bill passed in 2001, banning parents striking children above the shoulders (thus preventing neck, head, brain and facial injuries), and requiring that any physical force applied leave only trivial and short-lived signs such as redness (that is, no bruising, swelling, welts, cuts, grazes, internal injuries, emotional trauma, etc.).
References
- ^ Joel, Alexandra (4 January 1997). "The man who cares for kids". Good Weekend. pp. 23–25. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Loane, Sally (21 October 1995). "An Injection of Art". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. Spectrum 8A. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ UNSW Archives Chancellor Exhibition
- ^ "Member of the Order of Australia (AM) entry for Dr John Samuel Yu". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 12 June 1989. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
For service to medicine, as a paediatrician and hospital administrator
- ^ Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 978-1-74196-809-5.
- ^ "Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) entry for Dr John Samuel Yu AM". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 11 June 2001. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
For service to the provision and development of 'state of the art' paediatric care and research, to children's rights, to education, and to the decorative and visual arts.
- 1934 births
- Living people
- Australian paediatricians
- Australian chief executives
- Companions of the Order of Australia
- Recipients of the Centenary Medal
- Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
- Australian of the Year Award winners
- Australian people of Chinese descent
- Chinese emigrants to Australia
- Chancellors of the University of New South Wales
- University of Sydney alumni
- People educated at Fort Street High School
- Medical biography stubs
- Australian scientist stubs