Sandy Springs To Dedicate New Road To Legendary Pediatrician

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — The city of Sandy Springs will host a dedication ceremony next week to name a new street after a famous pediatrician.

The ceremony honoring Dr. Leila Denmark will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 21 at the intersection of Boylston Drive and Denmark Drive. Joining the mayor and City Council members to unveil the new street sign will be Mary Hutcherson, the daughter of Dr. Denmark, and members of her family.

Dr. Denmark attended the Medical College of Georgia, the university’s third female student and the only woman in her class. She is recognized as the first resident doctor at Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children, and she operated in private practice from offices in Sandy Springs, Atlanta and rural Forsyth County. Dr. Denmark practiced until 2001, retiring at the age of 103, as the world’s oldest practicing pediatrician.

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An outbreak of whooping cough in the 1930s in Atlanta prompted Dr. Denmark to begin her study of the disease. Over the next six years, her work was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and, in partnership with Emory University and Eli Lilly & Company, she developed the first pertussis vaccine.

Dr. Denmark provided many patients in Sandy Springs and the metro area with advice and care, and her guidance continues through her books, “Every Child Should Have a Chance,” and “Dr. Denmark Said It: Advice to Mothers from America’s Most Experienced Pediatrician.”

Dr. Denmark passed away in April 2012 at the age of 114 years.

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