Remembering Dr. Juris Macs and a Lifetime of Caring for Grays Harbor

ABERDEEN, Wash. — Harbor Regional Health joins the Grays Harbor community in mourning Dr. Juris Macs, who died October 8 at age 92. A devoted physician, Dr. Macs spent 46 years caring for patients at Grays Harbor Community Hospital, now Harbor Regional Health. His service helped shape surgical care, emergency medical response and trauma care in the community he called home.

A proud Latvian, Dr. Macs came to the United States with his family as a teenager. He studied biology and chemistry at the College of Puget Sound and earned his medical degree from the University of Washington in 1962. After surgical work took him to Minnesota, Chicago and California, he returned to the Pacific Northwest. He already knew Grays Harbor from his college years, studying shorebirds here with his mentor and hiking in the Olympics.

He came to Grays Harbor Community Hospital in 1969, when the community needed a general surgeon, and stayed until his retirement on December 31, 2015. Over those 46 years, he cared for generations of patients and built lasting relationships with the physicians, nurses and emergency responders who worked beside him.

Reflecting on his career near retirement, Dr. Macs described what those relationships meant to him: “To be able to come here and establish this nice, warm relationship with my patients and be a part of the community I provided care for — that is the biggest bonus.”

“Dr. Macs leaves an extraordinary legacy in Grays Harbor. Through his vision and dedication, he advanced surgical care, strengthened trauma systems, and helped elevate EMS readiness across our community,” said Dr. Brent Rowe, a longtime surgical colleague. “Even in retirement, his influence continued to guide and inspire those who worked alongside him. He was a revered colleague, mentor, and trusted partner whose wisdom and character touched countless lives. He will be greatly missed.”

His work reached well beyond the operating room. The Grays Harbor EMS & Trauma Care Council remembers Dr. Macs as the founder, creator and first Medical Program Director of Grays Harbor Emergency Medical Services. He helped establish the systems that brought trained emergency care to patients before they reached the hospital, and he taught the EMTs and paramedics who would put that training into practice.

Dr. Macs also advocated for patients across Washington, supporting funding for trauma care and protections against insurance denials for injured patients. His service extended from caring for people here in Grays Harbor to helping improve the systems they depended on when an emergency occurred.

“Dr. Macs was not only a skilled surgeon, but he was also a mentor and instructor,” said Dr. Julie Buck, current Medical Program Director for Grays Harbor EMS. “He taught EMTs and paramedics who are now teaching the next generation, passing along his knowledge, experience, and commitment to caring for others.”

His dedication to patients was recognized in 2005, when the hospital named its Emergency Department in his honor. The expanded Dr. Juris Macs Emergency Department opened in June 2006 as part of the E.K. & Lillian Bishop Tower, tripling the previous department’s space and adding a rooftop helipad.

Dr. Macs received the Washington Chapter of the American College of Surgeons’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. In the announcement celebrating that honor, Dr. John Bausher recalled how readily Dr. Macs made himself available to patients.

“Of all of his attributes, the one that stands out to my colleagues is his availability,” Dr. Bausher said. “He will come into the office and even escort the patient to the hospital for continued care. It is for these reasons and many others that our emergency room carries his name.”

For colleagues who worked with him, his influence was also felt in the expectations he brought to everyday patient care.

“Because he expected the best from himself, those who worked with him always strived to do their best, myself included,” said Anne Marie Wong, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Harbor Regional Health. “His commitment to exceptional care raised the quality of care not only for his patients but for all those touched by the many healthcare workers who he taught, mentored, and worked beside.”

For Gregory K. May, MD, Dr. Macs’s influence became clear soon after he arrived in Grays Harbor.

“This is hard. When I first came to the Harbor, I was at a national meeting and when asked where I practiced, another surgeon asked if I knew Juris Macs. That is the first realization I had regarding the incredible impact he had on medical care, not only in our state, but even nationally. Everyone that had the honor of working with Dr. Macs will tell you what a great teacher, colleague, and influence he was. So many more people that have no idea who he was have had their health care bettered by his work. Not to mention the thousands of patients he helped directly.
 

“What struck me most, as he was living his last day as a patient in the hospital that was in every sense his second home, was that he never left. So many nurses, surgical techs, support staff, assistants, and physicians he taught and influenced have spread out in the ‘Macs diaspora’. But, even in retirement he was a force and presence here. He never left.

“Our community has benefited in so many ways from his illustrious career. It is a testament to a life truly well lived.”

Dr. Francis V. Estalilla, a board-certified ophthalmologist, offered a personal farewell to the physician he knew as a friend, colleague and mentor. “In loving memory of my friend, my colleague, my mentor. Grays Harbor was fortunate to have such a good, faithful, and skilled servant in the medical community. Rest in peace, Juris!” 

Harbor Regional Health extends its heartfelt condolences to Dr. Macs’s family, friends, colleagues, former patients and all who knew him. We are grateful for the 46 years he gave to this community and for the knowledge and care that continue through the people he taught.

About Harbor Regional Health 
Harbor Regional Health is the largest healthcare provider and one of the largest employers in Grays Harbor County, offering a full spectrum of care across the region. As a Public Hospital District and Sole Community Hospital, we are committed to keeping high-quality care close to home through services including primary and specialty clinics, a Family Birth Center, cardiac catheterization lab, emergency care, and more. Guided by our mission to heal, comfort, and serve everyone with dignity and compassion, we continue to invest in people, technology, and partnerships that strengthen the health of our community.