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Charles “Chuck” Griner, FBCA started his medical photography career in 1961 as a volunteer worker in the Medical Photography Department of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Tuskegee, Alabama. He would continue to work there on a full time basis each summer until graduating from high school in 1965. Chuck attended Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) as an English Major 1965-68.

Chuck started a freelance business taking group photos for the high school year book during his junior and senior high school years. In college his work-study position was as the campus newspaper’s photographer and advertising manager.

During the summer of 1966, at the age of 18, Chuck supervised 4 full-time photographers working in 10 Alabama counties for an Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) funded program called the Tuskegee Institute Community Education Program (TICEP) which used over a thousand college students to tutor kids in Alabama’s Black belt. The program published a weekly photo centric newspaper that was typically 36 to 48 pages.

Chuck studied motion picture production at Los Angeles Valley College Van Nuys, CA from 1970-72. BPA Biophotography Workshop at Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, CA in 1977. Louis Allen Management Training Program King-Drew Medical Center 1984.

In 1968 he worked as a photo technician in the Medical Photography Department, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Burbank, CA and in 1969, he became a member of the Biological Photographic Association (BCA).

In 1970 he was hired as a darkroom technician at L.A. County Rancho Los Amigos Hospital Downey, CA., and within his first 6 months he was shooting over half of the studio based patient stills, and shooting and editing 16mm gait and range of motion studies which resulted in his being promoted and becoming the first African-American to reach the level of Medical Photographer in the L.A. County system.

In 1971 Chuck was asked to develop the medical photogaphy equipment specifications for the new Los Angeles County Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital. He was subsequently hired as its first Medical Photography Supervisor and served from 1971-2001.

In 1971 he developed specifications for a comprehensive “Professional Photographic Laboratory Services Contract” that would allow any L.A. County Department to have a full spectrum of professional photo lab services with pickup and delivery.

In 1978 Chuck began providing technical support for computer operations within the Medical Administration while continuing to manage the Medical Photography Section. He designed and supported mission critical databases that tracked data on 700 attending staff physicians and 350 residents and interns. Subsequently, the hospital CEO requested him to develop a system to provide improved personnel item tracking and budget modeling of employee positions based at the hospital. The system that he developed was in use for several decades.

In 2001, after working 30 years as a medical photographer, and manager Chuck was offered a promotion to a significantly higher paying Information Systems position in Medical Administration at King. He became an Information Systems Analyst-ll in the Clinical Resource Management Section of Medical Administration. In 2007, he transferred to Clinical Information Systems Division of Harbor / UCLA Medical Center where he worked on the team at the first County facility that implemented a comprehensive Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system for scanning patient charts. His photographic background allowed him to identify a number of serious bugs in the vendor’s software. In 2009 Chuck retired after 39 years of service.

During Chuck’s career he has always been active in several professional organizations including the BioCommunications Association where he presented numerous oral papers, wining in 2000 annual meeting First Place Honors for “The Selection, Implementation, and Operation of a Low Cost Firewire (IEEE 1394) Based Non-Linear Editing System for Editing of Broadcast Quality DV Video Using The Digital Origin EditDV 2.0 System”.

In 1997 wining (Second Place Honors) for “Digital Video Cameras for Biomedical Applications” at the Annual meeting of BCA. and several other Oral papers for BCA (BPA) Annual and local meetings.

Organizations

• Biological Communications Assoc. 1969-Present
• President, Southern California Chapter BPA 1976-78, Vice-President, S Southern California Chapter 1974-76
• Treasurer, Southern California Chapter 1971-74,
• Board of Directors, Southern California Chapter 1980-81, 1984-86, 1993-98
• Member House of Delegates (1976, 77, 78, 80, 82, 97, 98)
• Chairman Professional Education Committee, Southern California Chapter 1977
• Bio76 Planning Committee Member
• Bio76 Audio-Visual Operations Manager for 10 simultaneous tracks of programing at the largest meeting BCA/BPA has ever staged at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas with over 1,000 attendees.
• BIOWEST 73 - Regional Planning Committee Member for a combined meeting of the Southern and Northern California chapters of BCA held to demonstrate the feasibility of hosting a national BCA meeting in Las Vegas.
• Member - Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Films (Saturn Awards) 1994-Present
• Los Angeles Film Teachers Association 1993-2001
• Los Angeles County Photographers Assoc.1974-1985
• Watts Writers Workshop Video Group 1975-76
• International Industrial Television Assoc. 1977-85

Awards & Commendations

2009 Commendation from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in recognition of 39 years of dedicated and excellent service to the community, and for the civic pride demonstrated by numerous contributions for the benefit of all citizens of Los Angeles County.

1997 Second Place Honors, Oral Paper “Digital Video Cameras for Biomedical Applications”, For a paper presented to the annual international scientific meeting of Biological Photographic Association.

1996 Distinguished Service Award for 25 Years of Service as the Manager of the King Drew Medical Center’s Medical Photography Section.

1994 Award of Excellence From the King-Drew Department of Hospital Social Services For Outstanding Service and dedication in support of total patient care.

1990 Certificate of Recognition, California State Senate "For invaluable contributions to the goals of the Community Health Advisory Committee"

1991 Award of Excellence From the King-Drew Department of Hospital Social Services "For outstanding service and dedication in support of total patient care.

1986 Award of Excellence From the King-Drew Dept. of Hospital Social Services "For outstanding service and dedication in support of total patient care.

1978 Service Award Southern California Chapter, Biological Photographic Association "For outstanding contributions as President 1976-1978"

Publications & Films

1998 “The Discharge Planning Conference” Producer, Director, & Editor. A King-Drew Medical Center Instructional Video on Strategies & Techniques for conducting discharge planning conferences to effect improved continuity of care.

1981 "A Fundamental Procedure for Patient Photography in a Clinic, Office, or Surgical Environment”, Charles H. Griner, and A. Paul Kelly, M.D. A chapter in the medical textbook "Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Nonwhite Patients”

1971 "Sculpture with Nails", Cinematographer & Co-producer A documentary film on the work of sculptor Harvey Schaefer. First Place Winner, Documentary Film Category, 1971 L.A. Valley College Film Competition.

1971 "The Next Step", Director, A 16-minute medical film on the management of Diabetic Amputees. Produced for Los Angeles County-Rancho Los Amigos Hospital.

1970 "Bandaging Techniques for the Bilateral Amputee", Director, Cinematographer, & Editor Produced for Los Angeles County Rancho Los Amigos Hospital.

Chuck has always given of himself in mentoring other photographers myself included, in 1971 he introduced me to Medical Photography and BPA .

In 1978 he was an Instructor & Course Coordinator for "Video Production for the Biophotographer”, a U.C.L.A. Extension Course sponsored by the Southern California Chapter of the Biological Photographic Association. He also instructed many photographers working on the RBP exam.