Leonard Bachman, 99, formerly of Philadelphia, longtime physician, former Pennsylvania secretary of health, retired U.S. Public Health Service officer, former chief of anesthesia at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, professor of pediatric anesthesia, volunteer and veteran, died Friday. , May 24, of cancer at his home in Chevy Chase, Md.
Dr. Bachman was an expert in anesthesiology, public health, public service and politics. He lived for a long time in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Washington, and his influence was felt in medicine and public service wherever he was. “He believed that access to quality health care was a human right,” his family said in a tribute, “and he championed policies that would make that a reality for every individual.”
He was appointed to the US Public Health Service in 1979, appointed rear admiral in the authorized corps, and placed in charge of PHS hospitals, clinics, disaster response medical teams, environmental and substance abuse initiatives and other national health programs. He retired in 1994 and later served for more than a decade as a medical consultant to the US Marshals Service.
Dr. Bachman was Pennsylvania’s energetic and charismatic health secretary for Gov. Milton Shapp from 1975 to 1979, and he faced Legionnaires’ disease, Hurricane Agnes, swine flu and dozens of health policy controversies. He also established state-funded health care centers and advocated access to health services and the role of the public in planning and procedures.
The New York Times profiled Dr. Bachman in 1976 and Shapp said, “The one thing that Len has done that I’m most proud of is creating health care services in parts of the state that don’t have doctors. Setting up these community medical centers to provide medical services. .He is a wonderful boy
Direct and often critical in his official comments, Dr. Bachman sometimes clashed with other doctors and politicians. He proposed a patients’ bill of rights and supported state taxes on cigarettes and disclosure of doctors’ salaries.
He was frequently quoted in The Inquirer and Daily News in the 1970s, and, as Shapp’s director of health services in 1973, said in an opinion piece for The Inquirer: “The nursing home crisis didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of decades of negligence on the part of society and its governments, including the Commonwealth.
He was recruited from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore in 1955 to be CHOP’s chief of anesthesiology and professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Before heading to Harrisburg in 1972 to serve under Shapp, he helped develop a pediatric intensive care unit at CHOP and created and refined innovative tools and technology for anesthesiologists.
He also taught at George Washington University’s medical school and elsewhere, and earned three honorary college degrees. He served as president of the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists and was active with a dozen other professional organizations.
He won the 1990 Abigail Geisinger Medal from the Geisinger Health Foundation, a 2004 Robert M. Smith Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics, a 2018 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, and other honors.
His uncle and father were involved in politics and Dr. Bachman ran unsuccessfully in 1964 to represent a Delaware County district in the US House of Representatives. Later, he was chairman of the Delaware County Democratic Committee and president of the Reform Democrats of Central Philadelphia.
“In everything he did, he was always enthusiastic,” said his son Joseph.
Born May 20, 1925, in Baltimore, Leonard Bachman was an Eagle Scout and star wrestler in high school and college. He also enjoyed swimming, biking and boating and fishing.
He joined the Navy’s college training program for officers and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster during World War II and went on to earn his medical degree at the University of Maryland in 1949. He served in hospitals of the Navy in Maryland and Massachusetts, and medical centers in Boston before moving to Baltimore and Philadelphia.
He met Sarah Jaffe in Baltimore and they married in 1950 and had a daughter Emily and sons Joseph, Daniel and Jacob. They lived in Baltimore, Boston, Bryn Mawr, Philadelphia and Washington before he moved to Maryland. His wife died earlier.
Dr. Bachman and his wife enjoyed time with family and friends at their cabin, Camp Bachman, in western Maine. He served on boards and committees for his synagogues in Philadelphia and Washington, and became a medical advisor to friends and neighbors in Maryland during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was a member of a literary society at college and often quoted Shakespeare. He told fascinating stories about visiting research ships, was a board member of the Society Hill Civic Association and described himself as a “realistic visionary”.
He was, his daughter said, “an extremely curious man, with wide interests and knowledge, willing to learn and to learn from anyone.”
In addition to his children, Dr. Bachman is survived by seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and other relatives.
Services were held on May 26.
Donations in his name may be made to Rangeley Health and Wellness, Box 722, Rangeley, Maine 04970; and Congregation Tifereth Israel, 7701 16th St., NW Washington, DC 20012.
#Leonard #Bachman #health #secretary #died #age
Image Source : www.inquirer.com