W. Gerald Rainer MD, MS (Surg) is a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon and has spent most of his clinical years at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver. Additionally, he is an Emeritus Board member of the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation. He is a Past President of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and The American College of Chest Physicians and is a Distinguished Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado. In addition to serving on the Bioethics and Humanities Advisory Board, he is a Trustee of the Colorado Symphony Association and a member of the Board of the Humanities Institute of the University of Denver.