Bill Stone

Bill Stone (1 August 1936 – 11 May 2020), was a nephrologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was head of the kidney department at the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, part of the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, for over 45 years. There, in the 1970s, he began the first dialysis treatments that could be performed both in a healthcare setting and at home. During this time he helped work out how to administer safe doses of penicillin to people with kidney failure, who otherwise might develop toxic levels of penicillin in their blood.

Early life and education William J. Stone was born on 1 August 1936 in Washington D. C., to William Spencer Stone, an army physician and later dean of University of Maryland Medical School, and his wife Louise Rankin Stone. After graduating from Princeton University in 1957, he gained his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and then worked at Vanderbilt University where he completed his medical residency before serving there as chief resident. There, in the 1970s, he began the first dialysis treatments that could be performed both in a healthcare setting and at home.

Personal and family Stone composed limericks and produced five volumes on medical limericks. He was married to Elizabeth and they had three children.

Death and legacy He died on 11 May 2020 in Nashville. A renal dialysis unit is named for him.

Selected publications (Co-authored)