Fred Schwartz Md

Dear Friends,

I was born and bred in the East New York section of Brooklyn in 1944. After a relatively normal adolescent period I found myself sitting with the guidance counselor of Hamilton College who was asking me “ have you ruled out any professions?”. Having no idea of what direction I should take he suggested I sign up for pre-med like most of my other classmates were doing. Three years later I found myself opening up an acceptance letter from Albany Medical College. After lots of hard work, and a lot of touch football, I graduated with my class in 1969.

Since I was not ready to open up a medical practice I took a job as the medical part of an Emergency Medicine duo in lower Manhattan. At that time there was no such thing as a specialty in Emergency Medicine but it was gaining traction as a new area of expertise. I became involved in an exceptional aspect of pre-hospital care: the advent of the paramedic – training first responders how to treat medical and surgical emergencies immediately at the scene of the event. I worked with other dedicated professionals to establish the medical protocols that paramedics use in New York City to administer pre-hospital treatments. At Beekman Downtown Hospital we were authorized to train those paramedics who would be working for all the non-municipal hospitals in New York City. Over the years we trained hundreds of dedicated paramedics – some of whom are still treating patients on the streets of New York, and several of whom have gone on to medical school to became physicians continuing the tradition of training other paramedics, medical students and doctors in Emergency Medicine.

My next professional transition came in 1984 when the Medicare Hospice Bill was passed in Congress and signed into law. This bill gave every terminally ill patient a chance to end their lives in dignity and comfort surrounded by their families.

As a volunteer, taking care of a young man with a terminal illness, I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my professional career helping people ease their way through one of the toughest periods anyone can face. In 1985 I became the first Medical Director of the Hospice Program of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. In that role I was able to visit patients where they were: in their homes, in hospitals, or in nursing facilities. After 15 years at VNS I assumed the same role at Hospice of New York where I spent another 16 years until my retirement.

I have always tried to bring the highest clinical skills and personal involvement to my profession but I have realized over the years that the most important attributes that anyone can bring to any human connection are love and kindness and that’s how I tried to live my life.

Namaste

Fred Schwartz