Jack Pike, BS, PA-C has been a trailblazer in the PA profession. He was first licensed as a PA in 1976 in Illinois, and certified by the NCCPA since 1982. He has had a long professional history surgical subspecialties and occupational health. He has served the profession in multiple state academies and at the national level.
Mr. Pike was born in 1950 in Joliet, Illinois, where he spent his formative years. The path to his career as a PA is an interesting and unique one. He originally trained as a surgical tech, but while working with a multispecialty group in Illinois, was functioning in a PA capacity. In 1976 he was licensed in Illinois as a PA by examination. Several years later, Illinois began to require NCCPA certification for licensure. Mr. Pike then became qualified to take the NCCPA exam as an informally trained candidate. He was certified by the NCCPA in 1982, and has remained so since then.
In 1984, Mr. Pike moved to Connecticut to work with a plastic and hand surgeon in New Haven. Six years later he left hand and plastic surgery to practice cardiothoracic surgery, where he remained until 2015 when he began to practice occupational medicine. He remains in occupational medicine part time for Trinity Health of New England.
As a result of his employment and associations, Mr. Pike was appointed as a clinical lecturer for the Yale University Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery from 1988-1990. He also served as Vice-Chairman, along with J. Jeffrey Heinrich, of the Yale Papers Committee from 1989-1993. He was subsequently appointed an adjunct faculty member of the Quinnipiac University PA Program. He served on the steering committee for accreditation, and was a member of the program’s admission committee from 1996-2014.
While working in Illinois, Mr. Pike joined the Illinois Academy of PAs. He served the Academy in a term as Secretary. Upon moving to Connecticut, he immediately became involved. He served the ConnAPA Board in various capacities, and served a term as President in 1990. That year was also the year that saw Connecticut PAs gain the ability of prescriptive practice. Mr. Pike was a charter member of the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut PA Foundation.
At a national level, Mr. Pike has served the AAPA House of Delegates for several terms as a delegate or alternate. His involvement in the Connecticut PA Foundation led to his being asked to serve the AAPA PA Foundation Board, where he served two terms, including time as secretary and chair. He is a Legacy Circle Member of the PA Foundation. In 1982 he joined the Fellowship of Christian PAs, a caucus of the AAPA. He has served in various positions including President twice. In 2000, Mr. Pike became a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA). In 2015 he was asked to serve that organization as a member of the Board of Trustees, which is a role he continues to serve in. Additionally, he serves as the Connecticut State Director of the American Academy of Medical Ethics (AAME). In that role he is able to stay involved in public policy issues.
In 2003, Mr. Pike began to participate in overseas medical missions. First, he participated with his church, and now with Global Health Outreach (GHO). GHO is the mission arm of the CMDA. He has served as a team leader for several trips to India, having traveled there eight times. He has also traveled to Zambia, Maldova, the Dominican Republic, as well has Jordan and Greece. The trips to Jordan and Greece were to care for Syrian refugees. He continues to travel to the Dominican Republic to serve those communities once or twice a year. He served ten years on the GHO Advisory Council, which ultimately is what led to his service to the CMDA Board of Trustees.
Other interests, hobbies and service have included sixteen years as a volunteer firefighter in his home town of Joliet, Illinois. He rose to the rank of Battalion Chief in charge of fire investigation and prevention. He has been an amateur radio operator since 1976, and is licensed as an extra class operator. He has spent seventeen years as an on-air radio announcer with WIHS, a Christian radio station in Middletown, Connecticut, where he spends one Sunday a month on the air, and twice a month produces a one-hour program featuring southern gospel music. He is married to Linda, a licensed clinical social worker. Between them they have four children and one very special granddaughter.