Dr. Saul Baker

DR. SAUL P. BAKER, MD, PhD, JD, age 87, died July 24, 2012 at Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood, OH. World War II Army veteran. Dear brother of Melvin Baker; close companion of Betty Lou Mantzell. Services will be held at BERKOWITZ-KUMIN-BOOKATZ MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 1985 S. TAYLOR RD., CLEVELAND HTS., Sunday, July 29 at 1 PM. Forest City Lodge #388 Masonic services will be held Sunday, July 29 at 12:45 PM. Interment Bet Olam Cemetery (Taylor Road Synagogue Section A). Betty Lou Mantzell and Melvin Baker will receive visitors FOLLOWING INTERMENT FROM 3 TO 6 PM at the Sherry Park Apartment South Building Social Room, 2201 Acacia Park Dr., Lyndhurst, OH 44124.   DR. SAUL P. BAKER Pioneer Geriatrician, Scholar, Professor, and Researcher DR. SAUL P. BAKER, a native Clevelander, and practicing Geriatrician, Cardiologist, and Internist in Greater Cleveland for thirty one years, who retired from office practice in 1993, died on July 24, 2012 at the age of 87. In 1964, Dr. Baker established and was the first and only Head of the Department of Geriatrics at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, which was the first Department of Geriatrics in any hospital in the United States. Dr. Baker received a Competitive Prize Scholarship on admission to Case Institute of Technology in 1943, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1945. After pre-medical studies at Western Reserve University from 1946 to 1947, he received the Master of Science degree in Physiology from The Ohio State University in 1949. He subsequently received the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1953, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Physiology in 1957 from The Ohio State University. In 1962, Dr. Baker returned to Cleveland to enter the private practice of Geriatrics, Cardiology, and Internal Medicine. In addition to being the Head of the Department of Geriatrics at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, Dr. Baker was also a Member of the Medical Staffs of Hillcrest Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, and Suburban Community Hospital. While in the active practice of Medicine, Dr. Baker enrolled in the School of Law of Case Western Reserve University, receiving the Juris Doctor degree in 1981. After receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree, Dr. Baker interned at what was then Cleveland City Hospital, now MetroHealth Medical Center. From 1954 to 1956, he enlisted and served as a Commissioned Medical Officer, Senior Assistant Surgeon (R), in the United States Public Health Service, being stationed at the Gerontology Branch of the National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health (now the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging). He was stationed at the Baltimore City Hospitals (now Francis Scott Key Hospital), where he held appointments as Assistant Visiting Physician, Departments of Medicine, Baltimore City Hospitals and Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, Dr. Baker cared for patients and conducted original research on aging. In 1957, Dr. Baker completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at The University of Chicago. In 1957, only four years out of medical school, Dr. Baker was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine at The Chicago Medical School and Physician-in-Charge of Chicago Medical School Medical Services at The Cook County Hospital (200 medical beds-six services). He was also appointed Associate Professor of Medicine at The Cook County Hospital Graduate School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Baker, as Principal Investigator and Grantee, conducted original research on Atherosclerosis and Lipid Metabolism funded by the National Heart Institute and the Chicago Heart Association. While still a medical student, simultaneously working on his Ph.D. in Physiology, Dr. Baker developed a blood test for detecting patients with atherosclerosis (coronary heart disease). At that time, he was Central Ohio Heart Association Research Fellow in Physiology and held Research Grants in his own name. As a researcher, Dr. Baker conducted original research in respiratory physiology, thyroid function and basal metabolism in aging, and atherosclerosis and lipid metabolism and aging. He published his research in national medical and scientific journals, and presented his research at national and international medical and scientific meetings. Dr. Baker was a Fellow of The American Geriatrics Society, The Gerontological Society of America, The Council on Arteriosclerosis of The American Heart Association, The American College of Cardiology, The American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was a Fellow for Life of The Cleveland Medical Library Association. He was a Member of The American Medical Association, The Ohio State Medical Association, and The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland. He was also a Member of many other medical, scientific, and honorary societies. Dr. Baker was a Member of Golden Square and Forest City Masonic Lodges, Lake Erie Consistory - 32 Degree Masons, and Al Koran Shrine. He was also a Jewish Big Brother. He was a Member of Fairmount Temple. Dr. Baker's biography appears in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, American Men and Women of Science, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, and Who's Who in the Midwest. Dr. Baker was a non-conformist. He refused to follow the advice of Federal Medicare and his medical colleagues to "Walk away from his Geriatric patients and let them die because they're old." Consequently, Dr. Baker was able to save the lives of Geriatric patients whom other doctors and hospitals had given up on. Dr. Baker is survived by his brother, Melvin Baker, and his close companion, Betty Lou Mantzell.