The University of Louisville School of Medicine mourns the loss of alumnus James (Jim) Heins, who passed March 15, 2024. Following his Celebration of Life on July 13, ULSOM took some time to reflect on Jim’s legacy at the University of Louisville.

After an undergraduate career in basketball at the University of Louisville that ended with a 1956 National (Invitation) Tournament championship win, Jim Heins was offered a full scholarship to the School of Medicine. Jim finished first in his class and went on to complete training in Internal Medicine at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, where he practiced and taught for the remainder of his career. He did the compulsory two years at NIH and earned a unique tenured professorship in teaching at Washington University Medical School.

Hiram C. Polk Jr., M.D., who completed residency with Jim Heins at Barnes Hospital, remembers him as not just a colleague, but a friend: “Jim was a remarkable example of the lasting impression that the University of Louisville School of Medicine leaves on its alumni. The years Jim spent practicing and teaching medicine barely brush the surface of the impact he had on the medical field. He is greatly missed.” Jim’s wife, Joan McDonogh Heins, is a proud alumna of Sacred Heart Academy.

The University of Louisville School of Medicine fondly remembers Jim Heins and the many years he spent as a physician and professor of internal medicine.