It used to be that Jewish doctors needed Jewish hospitals not only to practice, but also to meet other Jewish physicians.
Those institutions, like Mt. Sinai Hospital in Milwaukee, were established in the late 1800s and early 1900s because Jewish doctors were discriminated against in other hospitals, explained long-time Milwaukee urologist Dr. Stuart Fine.
In a telephone interview with The Chronicle, Fine said that quotas were applied to Jewish medical school applicants, so they “had to be better” than non-Jewish applicants.
“When I started my career in 1968, it was the tail end of that era,” he noted. While the integration of Jewish doctors into the mainstream of the profession was generally beneficial for them, it resulted in a decline in opportunities for Jewish doctors to associate with one another.
To fill that gap — by sponsoring social and educational events for doctors and theirs spouses, as well as to honor and involve Jewish physicians in the activities of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and greater Jewish community — Fine and a group of interested doctors undertook the formation of a local chapter of the Maimonides Society in the late 1980s.
The society, named for the 12th-century Jewish sage, varies in its goals from one community to the next, but the founding members of the local group also hoped to sponsor medical missions to Israel and to Jewish communities elsewhere in the world, such as Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and South America.
Another local doctor involved in the formation of the Milwaukee society as its original chair was plastic surgeon Dr. Paul W. Loewenstein, who told The Chronicle that he got involved because he noticed a dearth of physicians at federation events after moving here in the early ’80s.
In May 1990, the inaugural event of the society was held, co-chaired by Fine and Dr. Fred Shafrin with the help of a planning committee that included their spouses and seven other couples.
In 1990, its first campaign year, the society was able to surpass its goal of 50 members with 88 members who gave at the $1,800 level or above.
Since then it has played an increasingly important philanthropic role in the community. As of the end of this April, members have given $442,804 to the federation’s Community Campaign 2004.
Although he now lives in Arizona for a quarter of the year, Fine maintains a full-time medical practice in Milwaukee and is fully committed to the Jewish community here.
The Maimonides Society is as important to him as ever because it helps “keep people in the fold,” he said. “Jewish physicians are all over the community,” with “only 30 percent of American Jews belonging to synagogues.”
Moreover, in this time of increasing global anti-Semitism, Jews need to be affiliated and philanthropic. “You lead by example’” said Fine.
The society defines itself as committed to the federation’s principles of fellowship, dedication and support for Jews throughout the world.
It also upholds the Jewish and medical traditions of learning and study by acting as a forum for members to consider ethical, political, and social issues of the medical profession.
Part of the Healing Arts Division of the federation, the society’s 123 members now include other healing arts professionals, such as dentists, nurses and pharmacists.
Society co-chairs for the past two years have been Dr. Judith B. Coran and Dr. James J. Ansfield.
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