Summer 2013 COM Outlook | NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine

22 COM Outlook . Summer 2013 director of Residency Training in Internal Medicine director of the Coronary Care Unit director of the Medical Department of Emergency Room and Occupational Health Patients Registered in the CompCare Industrial Program Early in his Parkview tenure, Dr. Greber was confronted with a particularly troubling case, which involved a cardiac patient who was near death following a traumatic accident. Realizing he had nothing to lose and everything to gain, Dr. Greber contacted Michael DeBakey, M.D., who was a pioneer in cardiac surgery at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. Dr. DeBakey im- mediately responded by sending his heart retrieval team to Parkview to transport the patient back to Houston for what would be the second heart transplant procedure of his career. Impressed with Dr. Greber’s medi- cal aptitude, Dr. DeBakey invited him to spend 10 days at Houston’s Methodist Hospital to observe first- hand the cutting-edge procedures that were taking place at the medical center. “It was quite an experience observing the organization and appli- cation of high technology to new and uncharted medical pathways,” he recalled. “Dr. DeBakey’s office was always filled with the most promi- nent cardiac patients from all over the world, including sheiks, prime ministers, and heads of state.” Around the time his career trajec- tory was about to shift, so did his per- sonal life when he met the love of his life, Mary, who has her own psychol- ogy practice in Hollywood, Florida. “She has been the support a physician committed to medicine requires— with the encouragement and counsel a true partner in life is ready to supply,” he said. “As the cliché goes, I could not have done it without her.” Dawn of a New Day at SECOM As the 1980s drew to a close, Dr. Greber was happily ensconced in his new position as medical director of ACCORD Health Services in Wayne, Pennsylvania, when an old friend who had relocated to South Florida called with an intriguing offer. “Arnold Melnick, D.O., who I had known for many years, had come down to South Florida to help Mor- ton Terry, D.O., establish Southeast- ern College of Osteopathic Medicine (SECOM),” Dr. Greber said. “And he asked me to come down and teach a cardiology course.” More specifically, Dr. Melnick, who was the founding SECOM dean, wanted Dr. Greber to teach a course on Harvey—the cardiology patient simulator that allows NSU-COM stu- dents to gain invaluable knowledge as they learn to discern the differenc- es between and meanings of various heart sounds. “Initially, I was just supposed to come down and teach a two-week Harvey course and then return to Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Greber, who helped establish internal medicine residency programs at both Westchester General Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Center in Mi- Circa 2002: Dr. Greber with Dr. Morton Terry, the founder of SECOM and NSU’s Health Professions Division.