Summer 2013 COM Outlook | NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine

that I worked with and for Dr. Greber as his executive assistant for 10 years. Dr. Greber was an incredible, charitable, and caring man who always gave the best of himself and inspired others to do likewise. He was very knowledgeable and had a way of capturing your attention so you just wanted to sit and listen to him all day long. I certainly will miss our private time together. He was a great leader and mentor. In fact, there were countless calls and visits to his office from people seeking his wisdom until his very last day at work. Dr. Greber was the go-to man for any medical issue. He was my boss, doctor, teacher, and an immaculate dresser—a wonderful man. He was dedicated, intelligent, and kind-hearted—without a doubt a gift from God. I, along with his staff, loved Dr. Greber. He was a gentle man with a passion for medicine, sports, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches with mushrooms and jalapenos, onion rings, and a regular coke soda—no diet for him. I will miss seeing him coming down the hall with that smile that was always a beacon of light. I will hold him forever in my heart; God only made one Dr. Greber.” – Alnora Sands, HPD Executive Assistant “Dr. Greber was a doctor’s doctor. When I was having a compilation of symptoms for which I didn’t know the diagnosis, he was the physician to whom I trusted my health care. He not only knew the diagnosis, but then taught me about it and entertained me with a story about his previous experiences with other patients who had had the same problem. In addition to the many kindnesses that were an inherent part of his warm personality, I always felt included by him when he was in a room with me. He was a rare person, one I will miss.” – Judith Schaffer, D.O., assistant professor of family medicine “Dr. Greber was always ready, able, and willing to provide his knowledge and wisdom in medicine to everyone who asked. He had no problem in stopping what he was doing to answer any question. I remember an incident when I was evaluating a ‘patient’ for the Principles of Clinical Medicine simulation course. The patient had what I thought was a cardiac murmur. I called Dr. Greber to ask if he would confirm my finding. Not only did he say yes he would, but came to the simulation area within minutes to do so. I found out later that he was in a meeting with Dr. Mort Terry. Dr. Greber excused himself to respond to a ‘teaching’ moment, which he always felt was his most important reason for being on this earth.” – Stanley L. Simpson, D.O., associate professor of family medicine “Prior to being with NSU-COM full time, I was intimately involved with the College of Osteopathic Medicine and attended several of the strategic meetings and other functions. Dr. Greber went out of his way to make me feel welcome and appreciated. When I became a full-time faculty member and he was asked about my potential value to the college, his comment was, ‘We are lucky to get him.’ Those comments and his kindness always were a wonderful way to begin a new academic challenge, and he became an integral part of my NSU-COM experience. In a very short time, I came to appreciate his clinical acumen. Together, we worked on a case report of a patient with multiple cancers. We learned a great deal from one another, and when he became the executive dean, I presented a revamping of our current procedures program for the COM. He immediately grasped its value and was instrumental in sharing with and assisting Dr. Fred Lippman in securing the funding and resources to implement the program. Al’s value to the COM cannot be overstated. As we look around, we see his imprint on huge parts of the curriculum and hundreds of students and residents. He proudly told of our students’ mastery of cardiac murmurs through the Harvey program and the calls he received from his cardiology colleagues around the country bragging about our students and their knowledge base in this area. In my interactions with Al, he was always a gracious gentleman who had the best interests of the COM and the students as his foremost priorities. I will sorely miss him and his counsel, wisdom, balance—and most of all—his presence.” – David L. Thomas, M.D., J.D., professor and chair of the surgery and correctional medicine “I will never forget his deep concern for the people he took care of medically. That, tied with his vast knowledge of his profession and of his miraculous grasp of pharmacology, made him the super cardiologist and internist he was. That, plus his obvious affinity for people, and theirs for him, made him that very extra special person. But moreover, I remember his fierce disapproval of replacing a winning pitcher early in a game because he’d reached the 100-pitch limit some managers practice. That practice really bugged Al, and he was quite vocal about it. Those attributes, along with many others, are what made Al Greber a near-perfect human being.” – Jay Tischenkel, R.Ph., HPD director of institutional advancement “I fondly remember Dr. Greber in the Harvey classroom standing next to Harvey with one hand on his stethoscope and his other hand ‘conducting’ the orchestra of different heart sounds. He was always available to answer any questions and offer his insight.” – Jacqueline Thomas, D.O., assistant professor of dermatology “My initial memories of Dr. Greber are from my second year of medical school as we began the cardiovascular system. He was a wonderfully dynamic and passionate lecturer and was truly dedicated to ensuring that we understood the material he presented. Dr. Greber was truly instrumental in helping me to understand the correlations between the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system and the sounds I heard through my stethoscope. He helped teach me how to truly listen to the heart and how those sounds gave clues to the possible underlying pathologies. Because I had a chance to get to know Dr. Greber during medical school, residency, and then as a colleague, I saw that his passion never faded, that he was always an avid education advocate. He was always warm and welcoming, with kind praises given often. I am thankful I had the opportunity to know him.” – Jill Wallace-Ross, D.O., assistant professor of family medicine 25 COM Outlook . Summer 2013