Sidney Katz
| Sidney Katz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1924 Cleveland, OH |
| Died | May 4, 2012 (aged 87–88) |
| Education | Western Reserve University Medical School (Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine) |
| Known for | Index of Independence of Activities for Daily Living (ADLs) |
Sidney Katz, MD (born 1924–May 4, 2012) was a pioneering American physician, scientist, educator, author, and public servant who developed the Index of Independence of Activities for Daily Living (ADLs) in a career spanning more than sixty years. He made several other advances in geriatric care, including the U.S. Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, which established basic rights for nursing home residents. Katz received several public and private awards, including the Maxwell A. Pollak Award (1993) and the American Geriatrics Society’s (AGS) Foundation for Health in Aging (2001). The AGS award was also won by former US President Jimmy Carter and poet Maya Angelou.
Katz held several academic positions, including Professor Emeritus of Geriatric Medicine at Columbia University, and distinguished scholar at the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. He was a lifetime member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IoM), serving as the head of IoM’s Committee on Nursing Home Regulation from 1983 to 1985. During his time leading the committee, Katz initiated a review of current nursing home conditions; the committee developed a report that recommended an extensive redesign of nursing home policies, regulations, and standards. These recommendations were adopted into Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA-87), commonly known as the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, which mandated standardized nursing home patient rights and enforced new regulatory requirements to ensure equal treatment of nursing home residents.
Katz worked until the age of 87, retiring in 2011. He died at home on May 4, 2012 (4).
Sidney Katz was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1924. His father owned a dry goods shop, and his mother ran the household and kept the books for the business. Sidney Katz credits his mother for encouraging his education and his medical career (5).
After high school, Katz was unable to study for a medical degree due to the onset of World War II. He volunteered for the US Navy in 1942 Sidney, at the age of 18, and was assigned to various medical details including running the health services department at Purdue University for enlisted men. During his service, Katz was promoted eventually to become a functioning specialist in nursing surgery. While at Purdue University, he became interested in virology, and was accepted into medical school at Western Reserve Medical School (now Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine) (5). He remained there after his service, and continued to research in virology. Upon graduation in 1948, he received a fellowship from the American Cancer Society.
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