Dr. Del H Meyer MD
Early Life and Background
Born in Okarche, Oklahoma, Del Meyer grew up on the family farms in a family which had emigrated from Northern Germany in the late 1890’s. A life-long Lutheran, confirmed member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), he has been a part of Lutheran congregations in positions of responsibility all of his life. Many of his family have been pastors in the LCMS.
Education and Medical Training
He went to the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and graduated in 1965, moving to California with his young family in 1966.
Internship and Early Medical Experience
Dr. Meyer graduated from Kansas University Medical School and obtained his internship at Wayne County General Hospital in Michigan. This was the largest hospital in the United States with 8500 patients:
- The acute care hospital had 500 beds
- The ambulatory infirmary had 1600 beds
- The infirmary had 800 bed patients
- A 3500 bed psychiatric division existed with every neurologic and psychiatric disease imaginable
The Wayne County General Hospital (WCGH) internship provided a rich background in:
- Medicine
- Surgery
- Obstetrics
- Pediatrics
- Geriatrics
- Psychiatry
- Neurology
Residency and Specialization
After this broad experience, he stayed on for a three-year internal medicine residency which gave him extensive experience in:
- Allergy
- Immunology
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
- Metabolism
- Gastroenterology
- Gerontology
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Pulmonology
With this comprehensive background in a county hospital, performing procedures like cardiac catheters, colonoscopies, renal dialysis, liver, pleural, and lung biopsies, he decided to subspecialize in pulmonary medicine.
Military Service
During this time, he spent two years as a Captain in the United States Air Force at Mather AFB in Sacramento:
- Chief of the Pulmonary Clinic
- Developed a pulmonary function laboratory
- Served as Chief of the Allergy Clinic in his second year at Mather AFB Hospital
Pulmonary Medicine Pioneering
Wanting to solve the problem of asthma which he had experienced as a child, Dr. Meyer became a pioneer in pulmonary medicine. At the time, pulmonary medicine was not yet established as a specialty. He created the Pulmonary Platform, integrating Hospital Groups, Practitioners, and Innovation Networks in the late 1960s.
Key milestones:
- Established Pulmonary Medicine Associates, a Partnership in 1967 in Sacramento, California
- Founded Pulmonary Medicine Associates Corporation in 1973
Professional Impact and Leadership
Throughout the 1970’s, Dr. Meyer:
- Pioneered awareness about the dangers of smoking
- Attracted promising physicians to Northern California through PMA
- Developed pulmonary function and blood gas laboratories
- Managed respiratory therapy departments in six of the eight hospitals in the greater Sacramento area
His visionary leadership contributed greatly to PMA, which became the largest Pulmonary Group in the United States. He expanded to eight pulmonologists and remained the founder and founding shareholder.
Continued Contributions
Dr. Meyer continues to build and invest in healthcare, focusing on:
- Longevity
- Healthcare Industry Business Models
- Medical Ethics
- Re-establishing the core relationship between Patient and Physician
Professional Associations and Recognition
- Elected officer in the California Chapter of the College of Chest Physicians
- Held all elected offices up to president
- California Thoracic Society representative to the American Thoracic Society
- Member of a professional organization with over 15,000 pulmonologists in the United States and abroad
Previous Roles
- Senior staff at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, Sacramento County, California
- Volunteer Clinical Faculty at UC Davis School of Medicine
Dr. Del Meyer remains a pioneering figure in pulmonary medicine, with a career dedicated to medical innovation, patient care, and professional excellence.
Dr. Del Meyer, as the founder of PMA, remains today its founding shareholder.