One hundred-year-old Walter Guralnick, MD, DMD, lives in an assisted living center and can no longer drive on his own. However, he still travels to Massachusetts General Hospital most days to continue his 65-year career at the Boston-based institution, reports The Boston Globe.
While Dr. Guralnick no longer treats patients, he spends his time working with residents in the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Dr. Guralnick grew up in Boston and earned a doctorate in dental medicine from Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University in 1941. He married his wife, Betty, shortly before traveling to Europe to work in hospital units during World War II.
He is a prominent figure in the field of dental surgery, pioneering the concept of having oral surgeons achieve dual degrees in dentistry and medicine. Dr. Guralnick served as chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at MGH from 1966 to 1983. He's also dedicated much of his career to bringing affordable dental care to the public through dental insurance and helped found what is now Delta Dental.
Dr. Guralnick says people always ask him why he hasn't retired and his answer is always the same:
"I haven't retired because my interests are the same now as they were 50 years ago," Dr. Guralnick told The Boston Globe. "I've always said that if you're gonna work, you should seek to find something that you enjoy doing, and hopefully at the same time you can do some good for people. Money is not the most important thing. I decry it."
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