Dr. Eugene S. Wiener, executive vice president and chief medical officer of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Oakland, died at his home Thursday. He was 66. Dr. Wiener, also a professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, was heavily involved with research on childhood cancer and helped lead recent Children's improvements involving patient safety and the quality of care. "He will be sorely missed by all of us who had the privilege of working with him," said Roger A. Oxendale, Children's president and chief executive officer. "Gene was a great colleague and friend, and I have learned so much from him over the years. Children's will not be the same without him." Dr. Wiener played a key role in the development and design of the new hospital that will open in Lawrenceville. He was a leader in the 2002 implementation of a computerized system that replaced handwritten orders with legible text and supports physicians with instant access to information about patients and medications in order to reduce the risk of errors within the hospital. He served as senior surgeon on the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group and on the Children's Oncology Group, the nation's largest clinical research organization devoted to pediatric cancer. He received several research grants and published extensively on surgical oncology. A 1964 graduate of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Dr. Wiener completed a surgical internship and was a resident at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital before entering the military in 1966. During his two-year military service, he served as a surgeon at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and as commander of the 552 Medical Service Flight Milphap Team and deputy chief health officer, CORDS, III Corps in Vietnam. Starting his career at Children's in 1972, Dr. Wiener was appointed medical director at Children's in 2001. He was named professor of pediatric surgery at Pitt in 1992. His appointments at Children's and Pitt's medical school have included chief of the Department of Pediatric Surgery and surgeon-in-chief. "Gene was a dynamic physician, a wonderful man and a great friend. Children's certainly lost one of their best today," said Mary Jo Howard Dively, chairwoman of Children's Board of Trustees. "His leadership skills were second to none, and he was a role model for thousands upon thousands of young, aspiring physicians. This is a great loss to everyone at Children's and the medical community, which he proudly served." Dr. Wiener was active in several organizations. He was adviser to the American Pediatric Surgical Association/Revenue Update Committee, president of the Southwestern Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and Pittsburgh Surgical Society, president of the Pediatric Surgical Directors Program, state chairman of the Commission on Cancer and governor of the American College of Surgeons. He has won numerous awards, including the 2004 Ralph C. Wilde Award from the Allegheny County Medical Society.

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