Grace and Purpose
In 2019, Patricia Clifton Harwood was 72 years old when she underwent a lung transplant at UVA Health’s Charles O. Strickler Transplant Center. At that time, it was a rare procedure for a patient of her age. But Patricia was no ordinary patient. A lifelong educator and the former dean of Westhampton College at the University of Richmond, she handled her illness with the same determination and grace that had defined her entire life.
“Not many 72-year-olds are in good enough health to undergo this kind of procedure,” said her husband, Richard “Dick” Harwood (Ed ’71, ’73). “I understand that the doctors were divided about the risk, but they came to me for my opinion.” It was an easy call, he said. Without the transplant, she would die.
“She was one of the oldest and sickest patients we had transplanted at the time, and we were really pushing the boundaries,” recalled Hannah Mannem, MD, an associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, a specialist in interstitial lung disease and lung transplants, and a member of Patricia’s transplant team.
“But she had this grace, this purpose. She was truly one of a kind,” said Dr. Mannem.
After a remarkable recovery, Patricia had nearly five more precious years with her family. She traveled, enjoyed time with her grandchildren, and exchanged ideas with the former students she continued to mentor even in retirement.
“She loved to tell her story,” said Dr. Mannem. “She wanted to inspire others—and she did. She was so grateful and joyful that she was able to honor her donor by spending every day living her life to the fullest.”
After Patricia passed away from an unrelated issue in 2023, Dick, now 81, made a philanthropic gift to create the Patricia Clifton Harwood, Ed.D. Fellowship Education and Research Fund to support the UVA School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery and the Charles O. Strickler Transplant Center.
The Harwood fund will support something Patricia dedicated her professional life to—educating the next generation.
“One of the reasons we set up this fund is that we’d like to encourage more medical student participation in transplants and research,” said Dick.
Dr. Mannem was not surprised Patricia’s husband chose to honor her by setting up this kind of fund. She said that a lot of her team’s work is educating others about the transplant field to get more physicians-in-training interested in the specialty and more patients referred.
Echoing that sentiment, Shawn Pelletier, MD, director of UVA Health's Transplant Service Line, said, “There are real gaps when it comes to transplant education. This gift helps us send our trainees to conferences, engage in educational projects, and build a stronger team overall.”
He added, “Patricia always asked questions. She always wanted to understand the process. The direction of this gift fits her perfectly,” said Dr. Pelletier.
Their philanthropic gift wasn’t the Harwoods’ only contribution. Dr. Mannem said that treating Patricia was a gift in itself.
“She was one of the first septuagenarians in our transplant program, and we learned a great deal from her and this experience. Her success, defined from both the medical aspect, as well as the purposeful life she continued to lead, gave us the confidence and learning that we needed to take on other patients similar to her,” said Dr. Mannem.
A LEGACY OF CONNECTION
The Harwood fund honors not only Patricia’s memory but also Dick’s decades-long connection to UVA, albeit in a new and deeply personal way.
“My children—Patricia’s stepchildren—are all in agreement. This is something she would have wanted. She would love that this fund might help someone else in a similar situation,” said Dick.
Dr. Mannem put it simply: “She inspired all of us. Her story reminds us to live life fully, and to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in medicine.”
“Patricia was thrilled with her recovery and resilience, and so proud of what the transplant team did for her,” said Dick. “She would be honored to know her experience is now helping others.”