H eadlines
Einstein CEO Retires After 18 Years at Helm
L OCA L
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
Some people retire when they
feel their career has reached
a natural stopping point, but
nothing about 2020 felt natural
for Barry Freedman.

The president and CEO of
Einstein Healthcare Network
was hospitalized twice for
respiratory issues in the past
two years, so he spent a large
part of his last year at Einstein
working from home.

The coronavirus pandemic
has strenuously tested medical
centers like Einstein, but
Freedman said seeing his staff’s
response to the crisis and the
heroism of front-line workers
actually makes him feel better
about his Dec. 31 retirement.

“If I hadn’t seen how well
our team performed during
this pandemic, and if I didn’t
know how great a leadership
team exists there both clini-
cally and administratively, it
would make it hard,” he said.

“But I know the team has such
capability that I don’t worry
about the institution. I can
leave with the comfort that
they will continue to do very
well going forward without
me.” Freedman, 72, has worked
at Einstein for 18 years and in
health care for 49. He was presi-
dent and CEO of the Mount
Sinai Hospital in New York
prior to taking his position at
Einstein. Back then, he never
imagined leaving New York,
but found himself drawn to
Einstein’s mission as well as
Philadelphia’s arts, culture and
community. Looking back on nearly two
decades leading the network,
Freedman is especially proud
of overseeing projects that
represent its mission to serve
communities in need.

One was an early expansion
of the obstetrics department.

Between the late ’90s and 2010,
6 DECEMBER 31, 2020
Barry Freedman
Photo by Wesley Hilton
imagine,” he said.

The board then discovered
an opportunity to acquire a
hospital in Elkins Park less
than five miles from the Broad
Street location, which allowed
them to relocate the rehabilita-
tion program into a much larger
space and expand research
and outpatient services. The
MossRehab facilities now serve
North Philadelphia as well
as patients in Montgomery
County. A third major project
was Einstein’s merger with
Montgomery Hospital Medical
Center. The latter did not have
the ability to expand on its
own, so Einstein acquired the
building and created Einstein
Medical Center Montgomery to
serve the Norristown area and
expand its market presence.

“We thank Barry for his
tireless efforts and strategic
vision over the past two
decades,” said Lawrence
Reichlin, chairman of the
and having everybody buy into
that helped, but I also think
being open and transparent
and being a good listener
helped,” he said. “If you don’t
have a participatory style, I
don’t think you ever get to the
kind of culture that we have at
Einstein, which is, I think, my
most important legacy.”
Einstein’s Board of Trustees
appointed Ken Levitan to
serve as interim CEO when
Freedman departs. Levitan
has worked at Einstein for
more than 13 years, and most
recently served as executive
vice president and chief admin-
istrative officer and as the lead
of the Incident Command
Center during the COVID-19
pandemic. Freedman has promised
himself not to overcommit
during the first six months of
retirement, when he wants to
focus on establishing a regular
workout routine. He also plans
to continue to help the Board of
If I hadn’t seen how well our team performed during this pandemic, and if I didn’t know how
great a leadership team exists there both clinically and administratively, it would make it hard.

But I know the team has such capability that I don’t worry about the institution. I can leave with
the comfort that they will continue to do very well going forward without me.”
BARRY FREEDMAN
hospitals in the region were
losing money, and 17 closed their
obstetrics services as a result.”
“I went to the board and
talked about the implications
of that to a community like
ours, where that is such a vital
service,” he said.

Rather than
closing Einstein’s obstetric services,
the board authorized a $10
million investment to provide
more beds and expand the
capacity of labor and delivery
rooms, particularly for under-
served populations near the
Broad Street location.

He also oversaw the
revamping of Einstein’s
rehabilitation facilities.

“When I arrived in 2003,
one of the first things I discov-
ered was that rehabilitation,
which has national acclaim,
was housed in a facility that,
I would guess there were four
patients in a room, there were
no bathrooms in the room, the
building was 50, 75 years old
at least. And here we had this
superb rehabilitation service
and capability amongst the
worst facilities and terrible
accommodations I could
JEWISH EXPONENT
Board of Trustees and the
Board of Overseers for
Einstein. “His leadership has
been essential to Einstein
realizing its mission and vision
to provide high-quality care
to the communities most in
need.” Freedman, who served
on the boards of the Jewish
Exponent and Congregation
Rodeph Shalom, is happy to
have created a strong culture
at Einstein during his tenure,
one where coworkers feel like
family. “Crystallizing our mission
Trustees at Einstein on special
projects and stay involved with
some national health groups,
including America’s Essential
Hospitals, Health Partners
Plans and the Healthcare
Institute. He wants to give back
by continuing to mentor health
care professionals and organi-
zations in need of guidance.

“I’ve been fortunate and
blessed to have wonderful
positions and to have benefited
from that,” he said. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
10 Heartwarming Jewish Stories from 2020
WORLD GABE FRIEDMAN | JTA.ORG
THERE’S NO sugarcoating it:
2020 was a difficult, trying,
tragic year.

But just because COVID-19
dominated the headlines and
our personal lives, that doesn’t
mean there weren’t any Jewish
bright spots. Plenty of history
was made and here are some of
the Jewish stories that helped
distract us from the pain of the
past year.

The Jews involved with the
vaccine Several Jewish scientists
have been at the forefront to
produce an effective COVID-19
vaccine, trying to alleviate the
suffering inflicted on the world
by the virus.

There is Mikael Dolsten,
the Swedish Jewish head scien-
tist at Pfizer, who was key
in helping the pharmaceu-
tical giant produce the first
approved vaccine.

Tal Zaks, an Israeli, is
the chief medical officer of
Moderna, the other American
company to produce a vaccine
authorized by the FDA.

And the CEO of Pfizer,
Albert Bourla, is a Greek Jew
proud of his heritage — Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu claims that helped
Israel become one of the first
countries to secure a Pfizer
vaccine contract.

Even this year had its bright spots.

Getty Images; photo design by Grace Yagel via JTA.org
Harris have helped charge a
wave of love for intermarried
families. The couple released a
video together about Chanukah
— “one of our favorite holidays
in our big, modern family,”
Emhoff said.

Zach Banner as mishpocha
The 6-foot-8,
nearly 350-pound offensive lineman
for the Pittsburgh Steelers
of Chamorro and African-
American ancestry became
one of the Jewish community’s
favorite sons this year.

After the Philadelphia
Eagles’ DeSean Jackson made
headlines in July when he
posted a series of anti-Semitic
messages on social media,
Banner was among the most
prominent people to call him
out and say publicly that Jews
“deal with the same amount
of hate, similar hardships
and hard times” as the Black
community. Banner said he
was partly inspired to speak
out after being in Pittsburgh
during the Tree of Life
synagogue shooting in 2018.

Banner’s love for the Jews
didn’t stop with one post
— after what he called an
outpouring of love from the
community, he donated some
of his earnings to a Tree of
Life-related charity and tried
challah to raise money for his
charitable foundation.

Maybe it was all of the
quarantine isolation. Maybe
it was the sense of solidarity
brought on by the pain experi-
enced around the world this
year. Whatever the reason, this
was the year that a large chunk
of the celebrity zeitgeist, Jewish
and non-, had fun marking
Chanukah. Non-Jewish rock star Dave
Grohl and his Jewish producer
posted eight entertaining covers
of songs by Jewish musicians,
one for every night. Haim, the
Jewish pop band, marked the
holiday with song and dance
and a guitar giveaway. Daveed
Diggs, the Black and Jewish
star of “Hamilton,” gave us
a delightful Chanukah rap
(for kids). Jewish Broadway
star Nicolette Robinson and
her non-Jewish Broadway
star husband Leslie Odom
Jr. covered “Maoz Tzur” for
a holiday album. And the list
didn’t stop there.

See 2020, Page 21
Name: House Ads/rop
Width: 5.5 in
Depth: 7.38 in
Color: Black
Comment: Happy New Year
Ad Number: 00092966
Happy New Year
from the
The first Jewish second
husband Vice President-elect Kamala
Harris wasn’t the only member
of the Biden presidential ticket
to make history. Her husband,
Doug Emhoff, became the first
“second husband” in American
political history — and the first
Jewish spouse of a president or
vice president. He has relished
the role, speaking at events
aimed at Jewish voters and
with Jewish politicians.

The year of the celebrity
Along the way, Emhoff and Chanukah video
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
DECEMBER 31, 2020
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