Dr. Richard Zelkowitz Receives Connecticut Hospital Association Healthcare Hero Award
July 6, 2010 - Dr. Richard Zelkowitz of Westport, was presented with the Connecticut Hospital Association's (CHA) "Healthcare Heroes" Award at the CHA annual meeting last week. CHA’s “Healthcare Heroes” Award celebrates and recognizes the invaluable contributions of exceptional healthcare workers, both to their field and to the community at large.
Dr. Zelkowitz is a medical hematologist and oncologist with the Whittingham Cancer Center at Norwalk Hospital and was instrumental in the development of the Smilow Family Breast Health Center at Norwalk Hospital, which held its official opening in 2007.
This Smilow Breast Health Center, for which he is medical director, helps navigate patients through the process of referrals and scheduling as they cope with abnormal breast findings -- whether or not they prove to be malignant. He and his staff provide extensive community education on the importance of screening for early detection. The Center helps to enroll women in the Connecticut Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program for medically underserved women. The purpose of this program is to significantly increase the number of women who receive breast and cervical cancer screening services and diagnostic follow-up as appropriate. Under Dr. Zelkowitz’s leadership, the Smilow Family Breast Health Center introduced many new and innovative support programs and services, including the Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Support Group, the Breast Cancer Survivor’s Group. Lymphedema Assessment and Nutrition Consultation, the Breast Cancer Partner’s Support for partners of breast cancer patients to share and receive support from those traveling a similar path, and complementary programs such as Reiki and massage.
Dr. Zelkowitz is loved by his patients, their families and his coworkers for his extraordinary level of caring and medical expertise, according to Mary Nolan, RN, vice president of nursing at Norwalk Hospital, who nominated him for award along with Mary Franco, president of the Norwalk Hospital Foundation. Catherine Ann Stone, one of his patients and author of the book, Down to the Marrow, describes Dr. Zelkowitz in her book as “the oncologist from some comedy club in heaven.” As she relates in Down to the Marrow, “The long version of his name is Dr. Zelkowitz, but women only call him that once. After the first visit, the one in which he gives you his home phone number and invites you to dinner, everyone shortens his name to Dr. Z. Many women I know, with past or present breast cancer, are his patients. When we miss an appointment, we don’t get a call from a receptionist. We get calls on our cell phones. ‘Stoney! Where are you? Get down here’.” Stone is convinced it was this kind of care that led to her survival and she wants to be sure others can have the same benefit.
Don Sauvigne’s wife, Sharon, passed away two years ago last January after battling breast cancer. Dr. Zelkowitz was her doctor. According to Don, in addition to looking into Norwalk Hospital’s clinical trials, “frequently and with the support of Dr. Zelkowitz, we continued to look into clinical trials for Sharon in New York City hospitals. Time and time again we would hear from the New York doctors that Sharon would get no greater care than what she was getting from Dr. Zelkowitz. Everything that could be done for Sharon was done by Dr. Zelkowitz. The love, care and treatment we experienced could make an iceberg melt.”
One of his patients said, “He is very personal and greets you with a sense of humor; and when it’s very serious, he shows great compassion.” She related, “He calls his patients, sometimes multiple times a day, just to follow-up and make sure that they are okay with the information he gave them. He is such a family man. He is so proud of his family and that makes him very human. He has photographs of his family throughout his office.”
“Dr. Zelkowitz is everyone's favorite - and that includes patients, staff, fellow physicians and members of the community,” said Mary-Ellen Loncto, RN, Norwalk Hospital, who worked closely with him for many years. “He puts himself totally into what he does, whether it is patient care, (he always calls his patients with the latest results of a scan or test); administration (he advocates for programs and services which he feels strongly about – and the Smilow Family Breast Health Center and the Whittingham Cancer Center are on top of his list), and, of course, his family (he doesn't miss his children's' events).” She added, “Dr. Z., (as he is affectionately called) is approachable, intelligent and able to motivate people to support great causes. He speaks from the heart and he sincerely is committed to the best outcomes for people with cancer. He is an expert in the area of breast cancer - always aware of the most current developments.
Dr. Zelkowitz has something pink each day to bring awareness to breast cancer; his socks are often pink, his cell phone is pink and he probably has more pink ties than any other person!
A nationally recognized expert in the treatment of breast cancer, Dr. Zelkowitz is a member of the Norwalk Hospital Board of Trustees as well as the Norwalk Hospital Foundation Board. He and his wife Tammy led the Steering Committee for the Whittingham Cancer Center Walk, a benefit walk for the hospital’s cancer center for several years. He is also the Master of Ceremony each year for the Breast Cancer Survivor Fashion Show sponsored by the Smilow Family Breast Health Center at the Stamford Town Center. His patients say that it is an honor for them to be introduced by him and it very meaningful to them. In addition, Dr. Zelkowitz always finds time to volunteer at community health events. He does numerous health presentations as a community service for assisted living facilities, libraries, area YMCAs, women’s groups, civic groups and schools.
He holds a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from Binghamton University in New York State and received his medical degree from New York Medical College. He completed his internship and residency at Westchester County Medical Center and pursued a Fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at Brown Affiliated Hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island. During that period, he also received special training in Bone Marrow Transplants at Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington. In addition to being Chief of Hematology and Oncology at Norwalk Hospital, Dr. Zelkowitz is a member of the Norwalk Medical Group. He is a Clinical Affiliate at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for Cancer and Allied Diseases. Dr. Zelkowitz is board certified in Internal Medicine, Oncology and Hematology. Known for his sense of humor and great personality, Dr. Zelkowitz considers it to be an honor to be part of his patient’s lives. However, he cares so much about his patients that he admits that it is not always easy, especially when they are not doing well. Dr. Zelkowitz had the experience of having his mother diagnosed with breast cancer while he was in medical school and she passed away in 1990 soon after he began practice. Fortunately, today with greater awareness about breast cancer screening for early detection and advancements in treatment, the chances for survival are greater. As a tribute to his mother, Dr. Zelkowitz has dedicated his life to the care of breast cancer patients.