It is with great respect, admiration, and gratitude that we announce the retirement of Dr. Ralph F. Stroup, who has served the faculty, residents, and patients of Yale Urology for more than 50 years. A reputable urologist within the New Haven community, Dr. Stroup is known for his kind and calm manner. Dr. Stroup’s profound influence through his instruction and care for the underserved will be greatly missed.
Following graduation from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and following his training in general surgery, Dr. Stroup enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps in 1967, and was soon sent to Vietnam as a general surgeon. While based in Sa Dec, South Vietnam, Dr. Stroup served as commander for a 16-man medical advisory team to provide medical services in conjunction with a Vietnamese team at a nearby civilian hospital. In his role as commander, Dr. Stroup discovered his love for teaching and talent for leading, commencing a lengthy career.
In 1969, upon his discharge, Dr. Stroup arrived at Yale School of Medicine to focus on basic kidney research with renowned pathologist Dr. Michael Kashgarian, but he quickly realized he longed to return to teaching. The following year, Dr. Stroup joined the residency program in urology, under Drs. Bernard Lytton and Robert Weiss, two patriarchs of Yale Urology. He completed his residency in 1973 and joined a five-person, private practice in New Haven providing patient care for more than 35 years. During this time, he also held a clinical faculty appointment with the Department of Urology, teaching medical students and urology residents, and attending Grand Rounds.
Shortly after his retirement from private practice in 2008, Dr. Stroup was invited to Kenya by Robert Bruce Williams, a renowned workshop facilitator to participate in a three-week HIV/AIDS workshop to train Kenyan healthcare workers regarding mobilization of community resources, food insecurity issues, and care for orphans whose parents died of AIDS. During his stay in Laikipia County, Kenya, Dr. Stroup had an opportunity to visit some remote partially built clinics, and saw many instances of food insecurity and lack of water, and a marginal primary health care infrastructure. He was so taken by the poverty and lack of healthcare infrastructure, he had a discussion with his wife Mary Ann, and soon thereafter they took steps to start a non-profit organization: Kenyan Health Care Initiatives (KHCI). In the last 12 years, KHCI, in collaboration with several partner organizations, has fundraised and led the planning and construction of several projects within the Il Ngwesi Group Ranch Conservancy, including a major water filtration project for schools and homesteads, a school book program, a sewing center, and medical clinics.
After only a brief retirement from clinical practice, Dr. Stroup was recruited by Yale Urology in 2009 to return and lead the clinical training of urology residents. Dr. Stroup has been supervising PGY-2 residents at the residents’ training clinic based at Cornell Scott Hill Health as well as on our Saint Raphael Campus. A strong teaching role that perfectly suited his strengths, Dr. Stroup guided residents as they learned valuable skill sets and confidence while caring for patients from the greater New Haven area.
While the COVID-19 pandemic may have sped up his “second” retirement, Dr. Stroup has no plans to slow down. His non-profit is a full-time job in itself with grant writing, fundraising, conference calls, and travel. But, in retrospect, he says his career in urology truly provided a sense of purpose and he greatly cherished his time meeting with patients and his colleagues. His more recent work with residents also brought great personal satisfaction, allowing him to help educate and train the young urologists of the future.