MEMORIAL
Stephan L. Kamholz, M.D., M.A.C.P
Chairman, Board of Directors
Past President, AAMP
Stephan Kamholz passed away on June 6, 2020 after nearly seven weeks of hospitalization in his own intensive care unit, a victim of the covid- 19 pandemic. He was seventy-two years old. A graduate of New York University and New York Medical College, he was board certified in Internal Medicine and pulmonary medicine-critical care. I recruited Steve to serve as chief of pulmonary medicine-critical care medicine during my tenure as chairman of medicine at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He succeeded me as department chairman after I left New York and held that position from 1993-2000. A member of Alpha Omega Alpha, he received repeated awards from students and faculty as "teacher of the year" and "outstanding educator." Steve knew more about medicine (all of medicine) than anyone I ever met. However, Steve was the classic “Renaissance Man.” Experts in their field could have informed discussions with Steve about wine, cognacs, malt whiskey, literature, art, food, cars and more. I do not think he ever slept. With all of his talents Steve was also just a very nice guy. He always turned the other cheek and was one of the hardest working physicians I knew.
Dr. Kamholz held several important administrative and clinical positions after he left Downstate, including becoming the Founding Academic Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Hofstra University School of Medicine in partnership with the North Shore - LlJ Health System. His most recent position brought him back to Brooklyn in 2013 to serve as Chair of the Department of Medicine at Maimonides Medical Center and Professor Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Kamholz is a past Governor of the New York Downstate II region of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and is a Master of the ACP. He is an Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK) and is a member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association.
Stephan L. Kamholz recognized the lack of diversity in medicine, especially academic medicine. But he refused to just pay lip service to the problem. He was a “Renaissance Mentor” able to advise students, trainees and faculty about the science of medicine, clinical care and the politics of growing and surviving. Master mentors are lacking in sufficient numbers to assist those underrepresented in medicine and biomedical science. He strongly supported the Association for Academic Minority Physicians for more than 25 years and served in leadership positions as a Past President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees. The life of Stephan L. Kamholz, the Renaissance Man is way too huge to forget. So, we will not. Steve is survived by his loving wife Rosemary, his daughters Sheryl and Sandra who is an internist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and his son Roger. He has five grandchildren.
Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP