Dr.
Arnold Gold, a pediatric neurologist whose belief in the importance of an
empathetic bedside manner led him and his wife to create a foundation to inspire young doctors
to practice compassionate patient care, died on Jan. 23 in Manhattan.
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“So one day in 1988,” he said in the 2016 interview, “I was
making rounds with the students and residents and a student presented me ‘the
brain tumor in 209.’ And I said: ‘The brain tumor? Isn’t there a child involved
in this? Tell me about the child, tell me about the family. Tell me how this is
impacting on the family. Do you know any of this?’ ” They did not, he said.
At home that night, he told his wife of his concerns about
where medicine was headed. As he recalled, she told him, “You know, Arnold, I’m
tired of you griping about medicine. Do something about it or shut up.”
They began the Arnold P. Gold Foundation together in
Englewood Cliffs, N.J., in 1988, hoping to clone Dr. Gold’s humane approach to
patient engagement.
