2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 258
Celebrating the life of Donald MacLean Switz, M.D.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 9, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, March 11, 2026
WHEREAS, Donald MacLean Switz, M.D., a trusted health care professional and a leader in the study of gastroenterology who pioneered novel treatments and surgical techniques and trained generations of doctors in the Richmond area, died on January 19, 2026; and
WHEREAS, Donald “Don” MacLean Switz, M.D., graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota, completed his medical training and residency at the University of Chicago, and conducted further studies at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, the Mayo Clinic, and Harvard University; and
WHEREAS, during the Vietnam War, Don Switz served as a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy, treating wounded United States Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, Don Switz subsequently settled in the Richmond area and worked at the Medical College of Virginia, now the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine; he served as a faculty member for 35 years before retiring as professor emeritus in 2005; and
WHEREAS, specializing in gastroenterology, Don Switz pioneered the use of surgical endoscopy in the Commonwealth, training hundreds of health care practitioners and student doctors over the years; he also played an important role in a major clinical study of Crohn's disease and helped establish the VCU Medical Center at Stony Point, giving communities south of the James River local access to care; and