Physician community shocked into silence over Mauck slaying
Dr. Ben Mauck was shot and died Tuesday in an exam room in Campbell Clinic’s Collierville office. (Courtesy Campbell Clinic)
For more than two decades, Dr. Ben Mauck’s home and focus was Memphis, the city where he attended medical school, later completed a five-year residency and since 2012 was one of five hand surgeons at Campbell Clinic.
Campbell Clinic and its satellite offices were closed Wednesday, July 12, as staff mourned the loss of Mauck, 43, an orthopedic surgeon shot Tuesday in an exam room in the newly opened Collierville office.
Early Thursday, July 13, his family released a letter through attorney Blanchard Tual thanking people for the outpouring of love and support from across the Mid-South, “along with the medical community around the globe.”
As it grieves, the family is focusing on the contributions Mauck made, personally and professionally. Among them, “Ben remained a family man, first and foremost. He and his wife cherished their beloved children and spent many special moments with family and friends.”
The family asks for privacy as it grieves and for grace in this “incredibly difficult time.”
Memphis has fewer than 10 hand and wrist orthopedic surgeons who serve patients across the tri-state corner.
“When we lose one, it is felt. Memphis will feel this,” said Dr. Dan Fletcher, a hand surgeon at OrthoSouth.
Fletcher and Mauck overlapped a year in their residencies at Campbell Clinic. Both also completed fellowships at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Mauck’s reputation was that of a competent surgeon with fine technical skills who tended his patients with kindness and regard, Fletcher said.
“The majority of his career was still in front of him. He was a seasoned enough surgeon that he had seen it all and yet still young enough in his career — I mean, the Lord willing, you practice into your 60s,” Fletcher said.
“To see a guy in the peak of his career be taken out like that is so tragic,” he said, noting the deep sadness he’s felt for Mauck’s family since he heard the news on Tuesday.
“I’ve been praying for them.”
Mauck was raised Catholic. A woman who answered the phone Wednesday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Savannah, Tennessee, said no one was available to comment.
Mauck lived with his wife, Rhiannon Mauck, and their children in Midtown.
He has siblings, including older brother Sam Mauck, director of evangelization and faith formation in the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, and Amanda Mauck, an account strategy director at MHP/Team SI in Little Rock, according to LinkedIn.
Physicians across the city Tuesday were in shock, many saying they could not comment.
“It’s just so sad. I don’t even know what else to say,” said Dr. Scott Strome, executive dean of the UTHSC College of Medicine. “Sometimes, there just are no words.”
People who knew Mauck say it was no surprise he chose to practice hand and wrist surgery, difficult because the bones and tendons are small and the ramifications can be huge for the patient’s employability.
“He was an excellent surgeon, so gifted and talented,” said a Campbell Clinic nurse who worked with Mauck every day but did not want to be named. “He was truly beloved by his patients for the amount of time and care he took to answer questions.”
On a medical rating scale on Campbell’s website, Mauck rated 4.9 stars out of 5.
“To see a guy in the peak of his career be taken out like that is so tragic.”
Dr. Dan Fletcher
hand surgeon at OrthoSouth
The Memphis Medical Society said more than 1,000 people had clicked on Mauck’s bio on its site since the news was reported Tuesday.
Tuesday night, workers compensation attorney Jonathan May quickly called a client, also a patient of Mauck’s, to tell her what happened before she heard it on the news.
“She just sobbed,” May said.
“Over the last couple of years, I’ve had several clients who had really difficult arm injuries. Other doctors were kind of out of ideas about what they might do to get them some relief and made referrals for a second opinion with Dr. Mauck.
“He had just been so patient and kind and willing to dig deep to see if he could find some avenue to get relief for people who were almost at the point of giving up.”
Dr. Fred Azar, Campbell Clinic’s chief of staff, said “Ben was so much to so many people.”
Azar said Mauck was dedicated to his family and deeply cared for patients. He was respected by doctors and those who learned under him.
“He was a brother to us all, who had the blessing and privilege to care for our patients alongside them,” he said.
Last week, in a segment about the dangers of fireworks on Memphis’ WMC-TV, Mauck was on camera, in hospital scrubs, helping parents understand how severe the injuries can be.
He spent much of childhood in Savannah, where his parents still live. He was a standout on the high school basketball team and earned a basketball scholarship to Western Kentucky University.
He graduated from Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee, in 2002, and was admitted to medical school in Memphis that fall.
The shooting made national news and underscored for hundreds of professionals who see clients one-on-one in closed offices the risk they face at work.
“I was up all night last night, just contemplating, that as a professional this is a thing that you have to worry about,” May said.
“You never know when you’re going to sit down with somebody who’s unhappy or angry. When you’re the doctor or you’re the lawyer, we have to deliver news to people that isn’t necessarily reflective of choices and decisions that we’ve made,” he said.
“It’s scary to think that sometimes the person who takes the time to be honest with someone about the ways in which they’re being billed by the system could end up kind of getting the blowback from somebody understandably being upset,” he said, noting that he did not know the specific details of the case.
The Collierville Police Department is investigating the case. A spokesman Tuesday would not comment on whether the gun had been legally purchased, noting that was part of the investigation.
Tennessee lawmakers are meeting in a special session, starting Aug. 21, to look at public safety issues related to gun violence in the state.
Raumesh Akbari
“I’m hearing comments from my colleagues — through the media — indicating they don’t think that we are going to be do anything. I am a bit frustrated by that,” said state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Memphis Democrat who represents District 29.
“It’s terrifying. People will attack you at church, at the grocery store, at a school, at a doctor’s office. We have got to get a handle on it,” she said.
“I think the way to do it is rein in access to weapons. Doing some sensible reform can really help people across the state. And it’s worked in other states, whether they are red states, blue states or purple.”
On Tuesday, the Memphis City Council approved a ballot question for August 2024 that will allow citizens to vote up or down three gun-control proposals, including a citywide ban on assault rifles and mandatory gun permits.
State law allows open carry without a permit.
Because state law trumps local law, the council’s action “will have no real implications,” Akbari said.
“But what it will do is send a message to Nashville that this is something Memphis would like to see. I’ve heard that from Republican colleagues and Democratic colleagues who would like to see Memphis excluded from the open-carry legislation,” she said.
“I just don’t know how you do that constitutionally without giving population limits or allowing cities to opt in.”
Topics
Dr. Ben Mauck Campbell ClinicJane Roberts
Jane Roberts has reported in Memphis for more than 20 years. As a senior member of The Daily Memphian staff, she was assigned to the medical beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has done in-depth work on other medical issues facing our community, including shortages of specialists in local hospitals. She covered K-12 education here for years and later the region’s transportation sector, including Memphis International Airport and FedEx Corp.
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