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Obituaries

Bernard Portnoy M.D.

January 20, 1929 - April 13, 2015

Service Information

Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills - Mount Sinai Chapel

5950 Forest Lawn Drive

Los Angeles, California 90068

Service Date
April 16, 2015
Service Time
11:30 am
Obituary Viewed 4170 times

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January 20, 1929 – April 13, 2015 Bernard Portnoy passed away peacefully at home at age of 86 surrounded by his family and loving wife Roslyn of 64 years. Bernard Portnoy MD graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts and Masters in Psychology from Syracuse University in 1951 and obtained his MD degree from SUNY, Upstate Medical Center in 1955. He completed a rotating internship at Maimonides Hospital of Brooklyn and his Pediatric residency at SUNY, Upstate Medical Center. He gained his expertise in Infectious Disease and Epidemiology at Walter Reed Institute of Research where he also served as Chief, Diagnostic Section of Viral Diseases. In 1961, he joined the faculty of the University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine and by 1970 was promoted to Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Preventive Medicine. His clinical care for over five decades was devoted to the underserviced children hospitalized at LAC+USC Medical Center where he also served as the Director, Infectious Disease Laboratory, Chief Office of Health Care Planning and Evaluation, Director of Academic Planning and Development and Chief, Department of Pediatrics. Bernie dedicated his research career to making common infectious diseases uncommon. In collaboration with other physician scientists he published over 90 research articles, chapters and books on poliomyelitis, meningitis, rubella, and viral respiratory infections. He also authored the section on respiratory diseases for the Encyclopedia Americana. Dr. Portnoy will be best remembered by medical students, residents and colleagues for his passion and expertise in teaching both the science and the art of medicine. He was a scholar in the history of infectious diseases and an encyclopedia of medical information. Armed with a soda, a newspaper and the latest edition of the National Geographic, he would come to morning report almost every day for 50 years and tell a never-to-be-forgotten medical story or two while teaching and guiding the care of children hospitalized at LAC+USC Medical Center. His legacy lives on through the hundreds of physicians he trained and mentored and, in turn, the countless number of children whose lives were and will be enriched through his dedication to Pediatrics and to humanity. He leaves a loving and devoted family including his wife of 64 years, Roslyn; daughter, Deborah Brown (Ronald); son, Daniel Portnoy; grandchildren Jonathan and Samuel Brown, Eleanor, Herschel and Anna Portnoy and many loving nieces and nephews. Services Thursday April 16, 11:30am, Mt. Sinai, Hollywood Hills. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice or to the University of Southern California with “Bernard Portnoy, M.D. Teaching Fund” on the memo line and mailed to: Cheryl Piazzola, USC Administrator, Department of Pediatrics/LAC, 2020 Zonal Avenue, IRD 111, L.A., CA 90033.

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