This is Part 4 of My Blog Series Know Your Fellow Residents. Today's blog features Phil Paris. Here's my on-line interview with Phil:
I am a Bronx kid, a long time Yankee fan. That all stopped the minute I came to the East Bay, now a devoted Oakland A’s fan (one of the very few remaining).
At Lafayette College in Easton, PA, I was richly awarded with two things: a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and meeting my wife Sally, a resident of Easton. Sally and I have three children: Zina is a social worker in Los Angeles working with Alzheimer’s disease; Mark is living in New York as a computer programmer; Jeffrey, living in Oakland, is the Acting Dean at San Francisco University.
After Lafayette College, it was off to medical school at Albert Einstein in the Bronx, NY. My choice of Family Practice as a career was a rebellious act as most everyone in those days felt they had to be a specialist. But I had a wonderful role model in my dad who was a GP all those years of my growing up.
On graduation from medical school, I was invited by Uncle Sam to volunteer as a doctor in the military, or be drafted as a buck private Yes, I volunteered and spent two rewarding years in the US Air Force as a primary care physician at the Niagara Falls Municipal airport, mostly treating the family members of the Air Force personnel.
On discharge from the Air Force, I enjoyed five years in my own medical practice. A decision to enter into a wider field of medicine led me to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City where I served for twenty years as the physician in a treatment center for those suffering from opioid addiction. Despite warnings of family and friends that I might be entering a dangerous area working with all of those addicts, none of that proved to be true. As a group, they were bright people, and highly appreciative of the work being done by the treatment staff of counselors and nurses. And most of them did very well in our medication assisted treatment of their opioid addiction.
In retirement, I helped the start up of an organization combatting the stigma associated with addiction. We adopted the name Stop Stigma Now and twenty years later, they are going full steam working to make treatment of opioid addiction both easier and more available.
When Sally and I decided to move from our Walnut Creek apartment to a senior community, the choice was not so easy. Should we choose a facility with multiple levels of care, anticipating future physical limitations? After visiting with Jenny here at Heritage Downtown, we chose to come seeing the active group of seniors, the inviting menus of the dining hall and my favorite activities, the gym, the swimming pool and the hot tub.
As newcomers at Heritage, we have the opportunity of meeting so many residents - and staff. Of course, just learning the names of so many people is a challenge. So, please do not hesitate to remind me of just who you are and what things are important to you.
I have played Contract Bridge with Phil and he is an excellent Bridge Player. Welcome Phil and Sally to the Heritage Downtown Walnut Creek. It is a pleasure knowing both of you.
Personal Note: Phil's expertise on the Treatment of Opioid Addiction reminds me of my blogs on addiction as follows:
3 comments:
Wow! What a previlige Dave, to meet and have these people in your blog with a very nice and complicated experiences in life I pondered or admired deeply
their skills and talents Enjoy reading.
Cont' blogging. My best regard,
You will have a huge task of interviewing many of your residents at your nursing home. Keep up the great work.
Dear Anonymous: I have not moved into a Nursing home, but to an independent living facility for seniors. Nursing home here in the US refers to a place where long term care is needed for the residents. THD is mainly for active seniors with a few who needs assistance on a part-time basis.
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