By Nanette K. Wenger, MD, MACC, MACP, FAHA

I first met Barry Franklin, PhD, MAACVPR, decades ago, in the very early days of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), when he was a “young pup” in the laboratory of Dr. Herman Hellerstein. Along with my own installation at Grady Memorial Hospital/Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Dr. Hellerstein’s lab in Cleveland — where Barry was a researcher — was among the earliest established to study CR.

Barry was always a “people person,” encouraging the patients to begin physical activity shortly following a coronary event — at the time, a striking departure from the typical 6 months to a year spent on bed or chair rest. Realizing that this emerging specialty needed a professional home, he was among the earliest and most earnest supporters of what eventually became known as the AACVPR (the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation). He had the skill to simultaneously train patients in CR while also instructing health care professionals in this evolving specialty. Barry is an AACVPR Master Fellow and a past president of the organization. Simultaneously, he remained very active in the American College of Sports Medicine, where he was honored by several awards and served as organization president. 

Moving to the William Beaumont School of Medicine at Michigan's Oakland University, he established the Beaumont Health and Wellness Center in the division of preventive cardiology, an acknowledged leader in both physical activity implementation and patient education using a variety of novel approaches. 

Barry is also a published author, both in professional journals and monographs and in public education materials. His presentations at national and international meetings are stellar, being among the first to adopt computer slides and mobile graphics, which made his presentations outstanding. 

Barry was a contributor to the original text on CR that Dr. Hellerstein wrote with me, and we participated in innumerable presentations for AACVPR, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology, among others. 

As he enters retirement, perhaps Barry’s greatest legacy is the multitude of health professionals he has trained who now participate in the still-evolving arena of cardiac rehabilitation. 

Nanette K. Wenger, MD, MACC, MACP, FAHA, is an emeritus professor of medicine (cardiology) at Emory University School of Medicine.