Tribute to Professor Lorna Jacklin
- Wits University
Professor Lorna Jacklin, a retired paediatrician from the Wits Department of Paediatrics and Child Health died on 11 April 2019.
On the morning of 11th April 2019, Professor Lorna Barbara Jacklin Paterson died following a long battle with cancer. Professor Jacklin was a giant in the field of paediatric neurodevelopment, a champion for the cause of children with special needs as well as the abused.
Professor Jacklin was the second born of a family of five children who grew up on a farm in the Western Transvaal. She schooled at Krugersdorp High School where she was the head-girl in 1967. Her undergraduate medical training was completed at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1973 after which she did her paediatric specialist training at the University of Pretoria working at both the Pretoria Academic Hospital (now the Steve Biko Academic Hospital) and the Kalafong Hospital. She completed this in 1980.
Prior to beginning her career in paediatrics as a newly qualified paediatrician, Professor Jacklin spent a short stint overseas as a Community Medical Officer working for the South Manchester Health Authority (1981-1983). It was at this time that she was involved with Developmental Screening and Assessment of pre-school children, school health assessments and the care of children in schools for the disabled. Her interest in this area led her to complete a Diploma Course in Developmental Paediatrics offered by Leeds University.
Professor Jacklin returned to South Africa in 1983 to begin work as a specialist at the Baragwanath Hospital initially as a sessional and then full-timer in neurodevelopment. It was just two years into her time at this hospital when she established the Baragwanath Toy library for paediatric patients and those with disabilities. It is still in existence and has been replicated in many other centres.
In 1986 she was transferred to the then Transvaal Memorial Institute for Child Health and Development (TMI) where she was based until 1995 when she was appointed as a Principal Specialist at the then Johannesburg General Hospital (now Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital) until her retirement in 2015.
As a paediatrician, Prof. Jacklin noted that some children with cerebral palsy were bright children trapped inside challenged bodies. This, and other experiences, steered her into the field of child development. In 1986 whilst she was at TMI, together with Dr Ruth Drubin, the superintendent at the time, she set about establishing services for those children left behind by society. Prof Jacklin was a determined and passionate children's activist, committed to the improvement of the lives of the most vulnerable, committed to achieving the best possible of each and every child. Autism, child abuse, visual impairment and deafness were some focus areas. While she displayed amazing care and pragmatic insight as a clinician, she was also a ground breaking pioneer in her field, and a canny entrepreneur.
In 2006, the Gauteng Department of Health moved all clinical out-patient services from the Transvaal Memorial Institute (TMI) building (formerly the Children’s Hospital) to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital leaving the TMI building empty. Prof. Jacklin successfully motivated for the building to be used by children’s NPOs and today it is home to 35 NPOs and itself functions as an independent NPO, the Children’s Memorial Institute (CMI).
Whilst based at the TMI, she developed or fostered numbers of child centred NGO's based on perceived need. Some are now well established, household names such as the Teddy Bear clinic.
Whilst her career took much of her time, Loma very much enjoyed contact with her siblings, extended family and those outside her work environment. Friendships were important to her. The regular hiking club and movie club membership drew her into new groups of friends. She was caring and empathetic, always interested, always building, always seeking to encourage. Her smile lit up the room.
Prof. Jacklin was an unusual Social Entrepreneur leader in that she was not head of an NPO. She worked as a full-time paediatrician in the field of neurodevelopment at the University of the Witwatersrand and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital and it is in this capacity that she initiated and/or founded eight NPOs during the course of her career. Up until recently, she was still actively involved at the Board or Executive level of five of these organizations including on the Children’s Memorial Institute board for which she was largely responsible for establishing. Her holistic outlook as a paediatrician enabled her to see the limitation of the medical intervention she could offer children who had been abused, children with visual impairment, autism and children with intellectual disabilities. This motivated her to mobilise colleagues and team members into starting a new and more comprehensive service out of which an NPO eventually was established. As a strategic leader, she identified the “right person” for the job of running the organisation and her enthusiasm and passion helped persuade this person that it was worthwhile taking on. She stayed with people, working alongside them, finding the necessary funding and supporting them at a management level.
An excellent team player, Prof. Jacklin remained humble and modest about her achievements, always acknowledging that it was a team effort. She was an excellent example of an authentic leader in that she knew herself and was clear about her role (and limitations) as a paediatrician. This also helped her to keep her own identify separate from that of the organization.
Prof. Jacklin was one of the country’s foremost leaders in the field of children with autism and children who have been abused and she received national recognition for her work. Amongst the ten awards she won were the Shoprite Checkers Women of the Year (Health) in 2008 and the Inyathelo Philanthropy award in Health in 2009.
Together with Prof. Alan Rothberg, she founded the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children that was launched in 1986. Today the organization employs over 30 people and has branches in Soweto and Krugersdorp. Services include medical assessments, counselling, assistance, comfort, safety and ongoing support to children who have been abused.
Recognising that there were no affordable pre-school and educational services for visually impaired children in Johannesburg she also founded the Children’s Disability Centre (CDC) in 1986. This service extended its care to children with autism around 1995 when there were very little services available to them. This led to a collaborative relationship between CDC and the then Johannesburg Hospital School, now the Johannesburg Hospital School of Autism when it became a separate entity 2017. Due to the demand from the community for services supporting autism, visual impairment and other disabilities, the CDC became more community centred whilst the Johannesburg Hospital School of Autism grew into the largest school in the country supporting children with autism. It provides for the assessment, early intervention, educational and therapeutic services for children with autism. Prof Jacklin served on the School Governing Board from 1992 to 2011. The school stands her legacy towards children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
A talented teacher, even in retirement she carried on her life's work. She was a passionate but humble leader with a vision through which she challenged, encouraged and mentored a host of people who now carry forward her legacy.
Prof. Jacklin is survived by her husband Tony and their son Craig and daughter Jackie and son-in-law Craig. Prof. Jacklin became a grandmother in December 2017 when Jackie and Craig had a baby boy, Jesse.