John McCall Zerwas, Sr. (born March 24, 1955), is a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

from Richmond,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, who was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

. He served as the representative for House District 28, which is primarily located in

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

. Zerwas was appointed executive vice chancellor for health affairs for the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

and assumed office on October 1, 2019. He resigned his House seat effective September 30, 2019.

Personal life

Zerwas and his late wife, Cindy Hughes, graduated in 1973 from Bellaire High School and married in 1978. After graduating from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

, Zerwas earned his medical degree at

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate S ...

in 1980 and started a full-time practice in 1985. On March 1, 2012, Cindy was diagnosed with a brain tumor known as

glioblastoma multiforme Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality cha ...

. She died on August 20, 2013. Zerwas helped form the First Colony Church of Christ, and was one of its first deacons where his duties included forming the children’s education and children’s worship programs. He worked with the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

to establish a troop in the Pecan Grove area, serving as cub master and den leader for several years. He also worked with the boys during the summer camp programs. He has participated in medical missions to Guatemala with the group Faith in Practice where he provided anesthesiology for charity surgeries. John and his wife Sylvia Haist married in December 2015 and reside in Richmond; they together have six children and seven grandchildren: Isabella, Matthew, Dashel, Oliver, Beatrice, Tinley, and Harlow.

Background

Zerwas practices anesthesiology with US Anesthesia Partners (USAP), a group he co-founded and in which he remains active in the operations of the partnership. He founded his previous practice, Greater Houston Anesthesiology (GHA), in 1985, and served as president of that clinical practice from 1996 to 2000. Zerwas served as President of the Memorial Hermann Health Network Providers from 2007–2009, and Chief Medical Officer of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston from 2003-2009. Zerwas served as the President of the

American Society of Anesthesiologists The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific association of physicians organized to raise the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and to improve patient care. As of 2021, the organizat ...

(ASA) in 2013. A member of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists, he served as President of the organization from 1996-1997. He is also a member of the Texas Medical Association.

Texas House of Representatives

Zerwas was the representative for District 28, which comprises the northwest portion of

. Municipalities (in whole or in part) in the district include Fulshear, Simonton, Weston Lakes,

Orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

, Katy, and Rosenberg. It also includes approximately 2,000 residents of the Fort Bend County portion of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

2018 reelection

Zerwas won his seventh legislative term in the general election held on November 6, 2018. With 44,306 votes (54.2 percent), he defeated Democrat, Meghan Scoggins, who polled 37,427 (45.8 percent).

References

External links

Texas House of Representatives - Rep. John Zerwas
official TX House of Representatives website
johnzerwas.com
official campaign website
"Project Vote Smart"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zerwas, John M. 1955 births Living people Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas) alumni University of Houston alumni Baylor College of Medicine alumni American anesthesiologists 21st-century American politicians People from Richmond, Texas American members of the Churches of Christ