Herbert Pardes, MD, a psychiatrist and leader who helped oversee the merger of the two medical centers that became New York-Presbyterian Hospital, died of aortic stenosis April 30 at age 89, The New York Times reported May 9.
Dr. Pardes was named president and CEO of New York-Presbyterian two years after the merger and led it from 1999 to 2011. The merger of New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital created one of the largest healthcare institutions in the country with more than 2,300 beds, 13,000 employees and $1.6 billion in annual revenue, according to the Times.
"It was an amazingly accomplished merger considering the different cultures of the two institutions," Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group, told the Times. "He was the bridge that allowed the smooth and wrinkle-free transition of that institution."
Dr. Pardes aspired to make the hospital a model of medical care and institute policies such as nurses memorizing patients' and their families' names, and having rooms and lobbies painted soothing colors.
He is survived by three sons, six grandchildren and his partner, Nancy Wexler, PhD.