Obituary for Ake Nils Grenvik, MD, PhD, MCCM
A giant in the field of critical care medicine — including the establishment of intensive care units — Dr. Ake (pronounced Ah-Kee) Grenvik was revered as a brilliant physician, educator and researcher.
As a founding member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and founding chief of the division of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Grenvik’s publications, including 27 books, have been cited thousands of times, while more than 400 physicians were trained under his leadership.
He will be remembered as a visionary, said SCCM President Dr. Greg S. Martin.
“Ake was instrumental in establishing how critical care medicine is taught, how intensive care professionals work together, and how patients are treated today in intensive care units around the world,” Dr. Martin said in a memorial on the society’s website.
Dr. Grenvik died in his sleep Sept. 5 at the Spring, Texas, home of his daughter, Monica McGinley, where he had lived for the past several years. He was 92.
He grew up in Sunne, Sweden, during World War II and worked his way through school, including as a deckhand on ships traveling to the U.S.
Dr. Grenvik went to medical school following high school, graduating in 1956 from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and earned a doctoral degree from Uppsala University in Sweden 10 years later.
As a student, Dr. Grenvik met pathology technician Inger Valley. They married in May 1952.
The couple raised four children and forged an unbreakable bond through good times and bad, including the 1989 loss of their son Christer, who died of a brain tumor shortly after graduating from medical school.
Later, Dr. Grenvik cared for his wife after a debilitating stroke until her death in 2015.
“My parents were very, very close,” said their son Anders Grenvik, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. “He was very devoted to her.”
By 1968, the young family immigrated to Pittsburgh when Dr. Grenvik was recruited for a fellowship in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Pitt’s medical school.
Within two years, Dr. Grenvik was tapped to lead the ICU department at what is now UPMC Presbyterian Hospital — only the second such unit in the country.
He worked alongside Dr. Peter Safar, who came to UPMC from Baltimore, where he founded the nation’s first ICU.
The two doctors established some of the first guidelines for critical care medicine as Dr. Grenvik took the helm at the critical care division at Pitt, colleagues recalled.
“Critical care is the epicenter of hospitals’ management of acutely ill people, and he was one of the founding members of that vision, and he supported the research and training that went with it,” said Dr. Michael R. Pinsky, a Pitt professor of critical care medicine who met Dr. Grenvik 40 years ago. “His dedication of both the practice of critical care medicine and training of clinicians in this new specialty were his signature.”
Dr. Grenvik’s contributions to the development of critical care medicine can hardly be overstated, said Dr. Derek Angus, current chair of the department.
“Ake Grenvik was a North Star for critical care, as a doctor, a scientist, a leader and a human being; he was truly one of the most remarkable people I have ever met,” he said. “I will be forever grateful to Ake for all of his mentorship and support. His life was an inspiration for us all.”
Dr. Grenvik also was among a group of scientists who helped to define legal and medical terms like “brain dead” and “critical care triage,” Dr. Pinsky said.
“He was one of the group of original critical care doctors who began to question the concept of brain death. He was one of the people who coined that term,” he said. “He also became one of the most outspoken advocates for compassion among those who needed it most. Sometimes, it wasn’t a question of what could you do but what should you do.”
Convincing doctors from multiple disciplines — who often saw their role as sovereign — to work as a team was a novel approach and not always a welcome one, said Dr. Martin from the SCCM, where Dr. Grenvik served as president from 1977-1978.
“For all his accomplishments as a legend and giant in the field, Ake will be remembered for his pioneering vision to rigorously train the entire professional critical care team to work together and deliver the highest-quality, humanistic, and patient- and family-centered care,” he said.
After his retirement at 80, Dr. Grenvik spent more time traveling with his family in one of three motor homes that they used to traverse most of North America — from Mexico to Canada and just about every corner in between.
Last year, he and his son spent two weeks visiting family on a road trip. Dr. Grenvik served as navigator — a job that he felt shouldn’t be trusted to modern GPS systems, Anders Grenvik said.
“My dad was always what I considered to be a backseat driver,” he said, laughing. “I had everything set up on my car’s navigation system. But right after I picked him up in Spring, Texas, we stopped at AAA, and we got maps. Before we even left Houston he already knew the route and marked it.”
But the hardest part about the road trip proved to be the long, lonesome drive back to Ohio after driving his father home, his son said.
“To me, he was my father, my best friend,” he said.
Along with his son and daughter, Dr. Grenvik is survived by another son, Dr. Stefan Grenvik, of Bristol, Tenn.; his sister, Margareta Andlid, of Karlstad, Sweden; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
In addition to his wife and his son Christer, he was also preceded in death by a brother, Gunnar.
Friends will be received on Sept. 25 from 10 a.m.-noon at Beinhauer Funeral Home, 2828 Washington Road, Peters. A graveside service will follow immediately at Forest Lawn Gardens Cemetery.
All guests are invited to attend a reception later in the day from 4-7 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands, 340 Racetrack Road, Washington, 15301.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grenvik Family Foundation at the Society of Critical Care Medicine, 500 Midway Drive, Mount Prospect, IL 60056, USA, or www.sccm.org/donate.
As a founding member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and founding chief of the division of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Grenvik’s publications, including 27 books, have been cited thousands of times, while more than 400 physicians were trained under his leadership.
He will be remembered as a visionary, said SCCM President Dr. Greg S. Martin.
“Ake was instrumental in establishing how critical care medicine is taught, how intensive care professionals work together, and how patients are treated today in intensive care units around the world,” Dr. Martin said in a memorial on the society’s website.
Dr. Grenvik died in his sleep Sept. 5 at the Spring, Texas, home of his daughter, Monica McGinley, where he had lived for the past several years. He was 92.
He grew up in Sunne, Sweden, during World War II and worked his way through school, including as a deckhand on ships traveling to the U.S.
Dr. Grenvik went to medical school following high school, graduating in 1956 from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and earned a doctoral degree from Uppsala University in Sweden 10 years later.
As a student, Dr. Grenvik met pathology technician Inger Valley. They married in May 1952.
The couple raised four children and forged an unbreakable bond through good times and bad, including the 1989 loss of their son Christer, who died of a brain tumor shortly after graduating from medical school.
Later, Dr. Grenvik cared for his wife after a debilitating stroke until her death in 2015.
“My parents were very, very close,” said their son Anders Grenvik, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. “He was very devoted to her.”
By 1968, the young family immigrated to Pittsburgh when Dr. Grenvik was recruited for a fellowship in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Pitt’s medical school.
Within two years, Dr. Grenvik was tapped to lead the ICU department at what is now UPMC Presbyterian Hospital — only the second such unit in the country.
He worked alongside Dr. Peter Safar, who came to UPMC from Baltimore, where he founded the nation’s first ICU.
The two doctors established some of the first guidelines for critical care medicine as Dr. Grenvik took the helm at the critical care division at Pitt, colleagues recalled.
“Critical care is the epicenter of hospitals’ management of acutely ill people, and he was one of the founding members of that vision, and he supported the research and training that went with it,” said Dr. Michael R. Pinsky, a Pitt professor of critical care medicine who met Dr. Grenvik 40 years ago. “His dedication of both the practice of critical care medicine and training of clinicians in this new specialty were his signature.”
Dr. Grenvik’s contributions to the development of critical care medicine can hardly be overstated, said Dr. Derek Angus, current chair of the department.
“Ake Grenvik was a North Star for critical care, as a doctor, a scientist, a leader and a human being; he was truly one of the most remarkable people I have ever met,” he said. “I will be forever grateful to Ake for all of his mentorship and support. His life was an inspiration for us all.”
Dr. Grenvik also was among a group of scientists who helped to define legal and medical terms like “brain dead” and “critical care triage,” Dr. Pinsky said.
“He was one of the group of original critical care doctors who began to question the concept of brain death. He was one of the people who coined that term,” he said. “He also became one of the most outspoken advocates for compassion among those who needed it most. Sometimes, it wasn’t a question of what could you do but what should you do.”
Convincing doctors from multiple disciplines — who often saw their role as sovereign — to work as a team was a novel approach and not always a welcome one, said Dr. Martin from the SCCM, where Dr. Grenvik served as president from 1977-1978.
“For all his accomplishments as a legend and giant in the field, Ake will be remembered for his pioneering vision to rigorously train the entire professional critical care team to work together and deliver the highest-quality, humanistic, and patient- and family-centered care,” he said.
After his retirement at 80, Dr. Grenvik spent more time traveling with his family in one of three motor homes that they used to traverse most of North America — from Mexico to Canada and just about every corner in between.
Last year, he and his son spent two weeks visiting family on a road trip. Dr. Grenvik served as navigator — a job that he felt shouldn’t be trusted to modern GPS systems, Anders Grenvik said.
“My dad was always what I considered to be a backseat driver,” he said, laughing. “I had everything set up on my car’s navigation system. But right after I picked him up in Spring, Texas, we stopped at AAA, and we got maps. Before we even left Houston he already knew the route and marked it.”
But the hardest part about the road trip proved to be the long, lonesome drive back to Ohio after driving his father home, his son said.
“To me, he was my father, my best friend,” he said.
Along with his son and daughter, Dr. Grenvik is survived by another son, Dr. Stefan Grenvik, of Bristol, Tenn.; his sister, Margareta Andlid, of Karlstad, Sweden; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
In addition to his wife and his son Christer, he was also preceded in death by a brother, Gunnar.
Friends will be received on Sept. 25 from 10 a.m.-noon at Beinhauer Funeral Home, 2828 Washington Road, Peters. A graveside service will follow immediately at Forest Lawn Gardens Cemetery.
All guests are invited to attend a reception later in the day from 4-7 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands, 340 Racetrack Road, Washington, 15301.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grenvik Family Foundation at the Society of Critical Care Medicine, 500 Midway Drive, Mount Prospect, IL 60056, USA, or www.sccm.org/donate.