Medical Director

EASTON -- A doctor who stunned a courtroom this week when he admitted signing blank death certificates for Hartley Hall Nursing Home has resigned as its medical director.A key prosecution witness in the murder trial of former Hartley Hall nursing director Marjorie Karen Alpaugh, Dr. Edward J. Colwell resigned yesterday after the trial ended when Deputy State's Attorney Joel J. Todd agreed to drop the charges.Mrs. Alpaugh was on trial in connection with the death of patient Maidie Lang Shay, 91, who authorities said was given an illegal and lethal dose of morphine medication almost a year ago. Problems with the credibility of Dr. Colwell's testimony forced Mr. Todd to abandon the Alpaugh case.

Erickson Living, manager and developer of Oak Crest retirement community, announced the promotion of Dr. Jeff Landsman, of Bel Air, to vice president and regional medical director. Landsman has served at Oak Crest for more than 10 years where he began as a staff physician and received prior promotions to associate medical director, medical director and regional medical director.  His current responsibilities include leadership for the medical group at Erickson Living communities in Virginia (Ashby Ponds and Greenspring)

Erickson Living, manager and developer of Oak Crest retirement community, announced the promotion of Dr. Jeff Landsman, of Bel Air, to vice president and regional medical director. Landsman has served at Oak Crest for more than 10 years where he began as a staff physician and received prior promotions to associate medical director, medical director and regional medical director.  His current responsibilities include leadership for the medical group at Erickson Living communities in Virginia (Ashby Ponds and Greenspring)

Dr. Lewis B. Newberg, a retired ear, nose and throat specialist who turned his personal battle with sleep apnea and snoring into a book in which he combined humor and practical medical advice for those similarly afflicted, died Oct. 22 of heart failure at his Edgewater home. He was 72. The son of a businessman and a homemaker, Dr. Newberg was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Jamaica, N.Y., where he was a graduate of public schools. After earning a bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he earned his medical degree in 1964 from the Chicago Medical School.

Dr. Aubrey DeVaughn Richardson, the retired medical director of Keswick Multi-Care Center, died Friday of a heart ailment in his sleep at Roland Park Place. He was 76 and had lived in Guilford.Recognized as a physician advocate for improved medical care in nursing homes, he set criteria that were later adopted by the Maryland Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the federal government."He was an exacting person who set an example of high standards," said Dr. Isabelle MacGregor, Keswick's medical director.

Dr. Charles J. Blazek Jr., a retired internist and former Maryland Casualty Insurance Co. medical director, died of complications from an infection Sunday at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 82. Dr. Blazek was born in Baltimore and raised in Flushing, N.Y. He earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Columbia University, and served in the Army briefly at the end of World War II. After completing a residency in internal medicine at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, he returned to Baltimore in 1950 and established a private medical practice on St. Paul Street.

Dr. Stamatios I. Sinis, a retired psychiatrist who had been medical director at Key Point Health Services in Catonsville for nearly three decades, died of cancer May 28 at Brightwood Center in Lutherville. The longtime Owings Mills resident was 72. "Dr. Sinis was a very caring and compassionate man who always went the extra mile for his patients," said Dr. Ted Fraker, a psychologist who is clinical program director at Key Point. "No matter who they were or from what economic background, he always had the highest regard for them, and believed they had the potential to get well and lead productive lives.

Dr. Arthur T. Hall Sr., a retired surgeon, died Thursday after undergoing surgery at Atlantic General Hospital in Salisbury. The Ocean City resident was 81 and had previously resided in Ten Hills. A general surgeon, he served his internship at St. Agnes Hospital and later practiced there and at Bon Secours. For many years, he saw patients at the Professional Arts Building in Catonsville. In 1958, he was appointed medical director of the Westinghouse Space and Defense Center in Linthicum, a position he held until he retired in 1983.

A PHYSICIAN serving as the medical director of a managed care company has vast power over patients. Does your primary care physician think you need gall bladder surgery? You better hope the medical director agrees.Despite all this power, there is no way to hold these physicians accountable for their professional judgments. And unless the House Environmental Matters Committee agrees to consider a bill passed by the Senate earlier this week, that egregious loophole in Maryland law will remain in place.

Dr. Conrad Louis Richter, 87, a longtime medical director for the former Glenn L. Martin Co., later Lockheed Martin, died of congestive heart failure at St. Joseph Medical Center on Saturday. The former longtime Homeland resident lived at Blakehurst Life Care Community in Towson. The Baltimore native grew up as an only child in the Morrell Park neighborhood and graduated from City College in 1932. His mother was a German immigrant and his father, also of German descent, worked as a brewmaster.

Dr. Lewis B. Newberg, a retired ear, nose and throat specialist who turned his personal battle with sleep apnea and snoring into a book in which he combined humor and practical medical advice for those similarly afflicted, died Oct. 22 of heart failure at his Edgewater home. He was 72. The son of a businessman and a homemaker, Dr. Newberg was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Jamaica, N.Y., where he was a graduate of public schools. After earning a bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he earned his medical degree in 1964 from the old Chicago Medical School.

As a family physician who delivers babies, I read the article regarding competition among maternity wards ("Baby Battle," Sept. 25). Although the focus of the short piece was clearly on the style of local labor and delivery facilities, it seems remiss to neglect the quality of care as a major influence in a woman's choice of where to deliver. A savvy pregnant medical consumer will not only view the "walls with warm, earthy colors" and hardwood floors during her tour, she will ask relevant questions regarding the hospital's cesarean section rate, support of breast-feeding, and use of episiotomy.

Dr. James Patrick Connaughton, a psychiatrist who was the founder and first director of what became the Johns Hopkins Children and Adolescent Mental Health Center, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at his Cloisters home in the Woodbrook neighborhood of Baltimore County. He was 80. The son of a government worker and a shopkeeper, Dr. Connaughton was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. After graduating from Rockwell College, a Tipperary boarding school, he entered University College in Dublin, where he earned his medical degree in 1956.

Dr. Robert Russell Kent, a cardiologist who left his field to serve Baltimore AIDS patients and the sick in third-world countries, died of cancer Monday at his home in Lutherville. He was 77. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Washington, D.C., he was a 1951 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School. After attending the Johns Hopkins University for three years as an undergraduate, he entered the Air Force as a pilot. He and his wife, the former Joankay Woodside, were married at Andrews Air Force Base.

Dr. Barbara Starfield, a professor and health services researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health whose work in the field of primary care and health policy brought her international acclaim, died June 10 while swimming at her home in Menlo Park, Calif. The former Mount Washington resident was 78. "She was found floating in the pool and may have died of an apparent heart attack. We are waiting for the autopsy report from the coroner," said her husband of 56 years, Dr. Neil A. Holtzman, a pediatrician and a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Peter VanVechten Hamill, who was medical director for the pivotal 1964 U.S. surgeon general's report that linked smoking with lung cancer and other pulmonary diseases, died of pneumonia Saturday at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 80 and lived in St. Margaret's near Annapolis. Dr. Hamill was scientific director and medical coordinator for the landmark "Smoking and Health" study. Congress responded a year later by requiring cigarette packages to include this warning: "The surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health."

State prison officials continued yesterday to debate whether they should add medical staff to evaluate inmates coming into the Central Booking and Intake Center, despite a memorandum from the medical director for the prison system expressing concern about health-care policies there.In the memorandum, written July 25 and obtained by The Sun, Dr. Newton Kendig wrote to Dr. Anthony Swetz, director of inmate health services for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, that he was particularly concerned about Central Booking, and about the view of top prison officials that there was a "minimal need" for medical services there.