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1 of 1977 Walter Clement

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Name	Clement, Dr. Walter B.
Born	11/02/1907
Deceased	1984
Birthplace	Bartow, Florida
Biographical Summary	Long Time Punta Gorda Physician, Champion and one of the Founders of the hospital in Punta Gorda Walter Bertram Clement was born in Bartow on November 2, 1907, the son of William B. and Mabel (DeCoster) Clement. He received part of his early education in Bartow, but attended high school in Mankato, Minnesota and went on to medical school getting his degree from University of Colorado. He embarked on his medical practice in Minnesota returning to Southwest Florida to open a practice in Punta Gorda in 1937. During World War II, he offered his services to the armed forces and was attached to the 101st Airborne Division, entering France on D-Day. After his military service, he returned to Punta Gorda and resumed his practice with an office in the Smith Arcade on Marion Avenue. In the 1930s and 40s, the road to a hospital from Punta Gorda was a bumpy one to Arcadia, a road on which Clement once drove patient, Leo Wotitzky, convincing him of the need for a local hospital. It was Clement who was the champion behind getting that local hospital built. His efforts with those of Leo Wotitzky were to convince the Punta Gorda Rotary to fund the development of a construction plan in 1940. Put on hold during the war, his drive to build a Punta Gorda hospital resumed in 1945 involving civic leaders from Punta Gorda and across the harbor. Finally, a 22-bed hospital was opened in August of 1947. Unceasingly attentive to both his medical profession and the hospital he helped found (now ShorePoint Health in Punta Gorda), he is said to have mortgaged his own home to help the hospital build a new wing. Additionally, he had been president of the Rotary Club and of the Southwest Florida Medical Association. He died in 1984 in the hospital he helped found.
Occupation	Physician Founder of Punta Gorda's first hospital U.S. Army Medical Corp
Education	Medical Degree
Places of residence	Minnesota Colorado Punta Gorda, Florida Bartow, Florida
Caption	Walter Clement

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   Record Type: Library