Dr. John A. Kastor
John A. Kastor, M.D., will present the first Heberden Society Lecture of the 2008–2009 academic year on Monday, Nov. 3, at 5 p.m. in Uris Faculty Room (A-126) at 1300 York Ave. The title of the lecture will be "The Creation of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital." The lecture is open to the public; light refreshments will be served.
In his lecture, Dr. Kastor, who has written "Mergers of Teaching Hospitals in Boston, New York, and Northern California" (University of Michigan Press, 2001), will explore the foundation and development of the full-asset merger of The New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital that went into effect on Jan. 1, 1998. The merger, though recent, is already an intriguing and fascinating episode in the history of medical institutions in the United States. In his research of the subject, Dr. Kastor conducted numerous interviews of the main participants in the merger. He understands well the difficulties, challenges and hopes that were involved.
Dr. Kastor (A.B. with honors, University of Pennsylvania; M.D., New York University) is professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He trained in internal medicine at Bellevue and New York University hospitals and in cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was appointed to the staff and to the faculty of the Harvard Medical School. From 1969 to 1983, he worked at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine where he became professor of medicine in 1976 and chief of the cardiovascular division in 1977. From 1984 to 1997, Dr. Kastor was the Theodore E. Woodward Professor of Medicine and chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and chief of the medical service at the University of Maryland Hospital.
Dr. Kastor's principal academic and clinical interests are the mechanisms, diagnosis and management of cardiac arrhythmias and the governance of academic medical centers. He is the author or co-author of more that 130 papers and books. His most recent publication was "Selling Teaching Hospitals and Practice Plans: George Washington & Georgetown Universities" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). His current research project is a study of the National Institutes of Health.
The Heberden Society, which will sponsor Dr. Kastor's lecture, was established here at the medical center in 1975 as a means for promoting interest in the history of medicine. The society sponsors three lectures during each academic year.