David G. Miller, MD  (1931-2023) early PC physician

Dr. David G. Miller, 92, died in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, February 5, 2023.

Dave was both physician and pioneer. For the U.S. public health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he was an early officer in its Epidemic Intelligence Service, staffed by specialists known as “disease detectives.

As the Peace Corps started in 1961, he became its first physician fielded in South Asia, based in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Dhaka, Bangladesh). For the first Peace Corps team in mainland Asia, “Pakistan 1”, he played a key role in the first experiment in placing Volunteers with host families to hasten learning Bengali language and culture. He arranged medical care for Volunteers posted around the province. His work later saved the lives of two who were injured by severe illness and a traffic accident. Thus, all 30 “Pakistan 1” Volunteers served their full two years. Dave also travelled to India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Nepal to survey medical arrangements for soon-to-arrive teams of PCVs.

Instead of accepting more international roles, Dave returned via Yale School of Medicine to Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in his home community, Cleveland. Starting in 1967, he served 27 years as the founding Medical Director of Hough-Norwood Family Health Care Center, created by President Johnson’s War on Poverty to serve the needs of Cleveland’s inner-city poor.

Dave’s whole family also provides medical services. His wife and two daughters are physicians. His son collects and delivers blood plasma for the American Red Cross.

Details at Cleveland Plain Dealer obituaries