Dr. Stephan L. Kamholz | In Memoriam
It is with deep and profound sadness that we mourn the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Stephan L. Kamholz, Chair of the Department of Medicine, who passed away after battling COVID-19.
Since he joined Maimonides Medical Center over seven years ago, Dr. Kamholz was an integral part of our clinical leadership team and our Maimonides family. He was renowned as a gifted teacher and writer, and as a brilliant and encyclopedic clinician. Colleagues, students, and friends can readily recall his warm smile, and the characteristic wit, knowledge, intellect, and kind spirit which infused so many special moments with him.
The full scope and impact of Dr. Kamholz’s career is difficult to convey in a few words. “Voluminous” is the word one might use to describe his life’s work in the field of medicine, which spanned six decades as a student, scholar, practitioner, and leader across many of the New York region’s leading healthcare institutions. He began his medical education at New York Medical College where he earned his M.D. in 1972. He then completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine, as well as a fellowship in Pulmonology, at Montefiore Medical Center, after which he joined the Montefiore faculty in the Department of Medicine and rose to the rank of Associate Professor of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM).
From 1986-1993 Dr. Kamholz served as Chief of Pulmonary Medicine at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn (SUNY-HSCB), simultaneously holding several teaching and leadership roles at Brooklyn medical institutions. In 1993 he was named Professor and Chairman of Medicine at SUNY-HSCB, a role he held until 2000.
In 2001 Dr. Kamholz was appointed Chairman of the Department of Medicine at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where he served until 2010. He went on to serve as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital, as well as Vice Chairman of Medicine at AECOM, until leaving to join Maimonides as Chairman of Medicine in 2013.
At Maimonides, Dr. Kamholz led the Department of Medicine with skill and care, fostering a collegial culture in which attending physicians, staff, students, residents, and emerging leaders thrived. He oversaw operational improvements with meticulous attention to detail while reinvigorating and raising the profile of the departments’ teaching programs. Since 2014, he also served as program director of the Pulmonary Diseases Fellowship program.
Throughout his career, Dr. Kamholz earned numerous awards, conducted extensive research, and gave countless presentations related to internal medicine and pulmonology. Perhaps nowhere was his impact felt more deeply than in his work as an educator. He was selfless in supporting the professional development of those around him. Whether acting as a mentor or preceptor, directing a residency program, or leading a clinical department, Dr. Kamholz had a profound impact on thousands of physicians in training. His talent for spotting the particular potential in aspiring clinicians, and helping them to fully capitalize on their individual gifts, played a pivotal role for many who have gone on to notable careers as physicians and as educators in their own right.
As we remember Dr. Kamholz, we are proud to honor his legacy at Maimonides with our establishment of the Stephan L. Kamholz Fund for Medicine to support a range of research and educational activities in the department which he led.
The hearts of our Maimonides family are with his wife, Rosemary, his children Roger, Sandra, and Sheryl, his grandchildren, and extended family. All who knew him personally and professionally will miss him tremendously.