A group of Roosevelt Island residents gathered together yesterday afternoon at the Rivercross Lawn to thank and show their appreciation to Dr Kathy Grimm who is retiring from her pediatrics practice after serving the Roosevelt Island community for 35 years.
I asked Dr Grimm about retirement from her Roosevelt Island pediatric practice. According to Dr Grimm:
It’s very difficult to give up something that you love but there’s a time
for everything in life. I’ve been on Roosevelt Island practicing
pediatrics for 35 years this month and in the field of pediatrics for 51
years so that means I am old.I own my own business and there comes a time in which you need to let go and I think that time has arrived….
… I also do child protection work. I’m the child abuse pediatrician for the Mount Sinai system and I also work for the New York Center for Children so I plan to continue that work. I do a lot of teaching on child abuse for pediatric residents and medical students and I plan on continuing that.
The one thing that really saddens me is that ever since 2015 I’ve tried to
get a replacement to come in and take over the pediatric practice and I have
been terribly unsuccessful … it’s just been a huge challenge to get
any of the major medical institutions interested in putting roots down on
Roosevelt Island….… It’s really nice to have a comprehensive medical center on the Island so
I still hope and pray that will happen. I had hoped it would happen before I
semi-retired but it’s been a work in progress for a long time so we’ll see
what happens. Miracles can still happen…… It’s been my great pleasure, it’s a privilege being a physician.
It’s a privilege being able to take care of families and and their
children….… The families have been amazing and I think the fact that our practice is
so multicultural is really very very special and I think that’s also what
makes Roosevelt Island special. I think at least 50 percent of our patients
are from other countries and I think that is really nice, I love that.
Dr Grimm added:
Dr Deborah Saltzberg played a major role in the practice for the last nine years. She’s amazing and the patients loved her. She made some very difficult diagnoses. She should be acknowledged.
Roosevelt Island parent Marc Block said of Dr Grimm:
Doctor Grimm is a wonderful pediatrician.
We came to Dr Grimm for the first time with our older daughter who was maybe
four at the time. She would cry a lot when shots were involved. Dr Grimm
would look at her the first time and said stop crying and she stopped
crying.The kids just love her . When my younger one was born, Dr Grimm lugged a scale, it’s like a quarter her size into our apartment to weigh our little one because she made house visits for first-time babies. Who does that?No one does that nowadays but she does, or did, and she’s just wonderful.
She’s a credit to the practice. She was a cornerstone of the community,
she’s just amazing.
I asked Mr Block what the absence of a pediatrician will mean to Roosevelt Island parents and if he thought residents would use a local Roosevelt Island comprehensive medical facility if it was available .
Mr Block replied:
I think it’s devastating. The the ability to get a child to get a pediatric
consultation quickly and easily is so important and to not to be available
is problematic…. We’re sort of an isolated
community. Not to have medical care right nearby is problematic.Absolutely. I still go to the local doctor. I’m a big believer in getting good
medical care where you live. It’s so important to have the facilities
everything as close by as possible
Here’s what Roosevelt Island parents and one young patient had to say about their appreciation for Roosevelt Island pediatrician Doctor Kathy Grimm.
As previously reported , Dr Grimm is working with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Rossana Ceruzzi to bring a comprehensive health care center to Roosevelt Island.
If you’re interested in learning more about efforts to bring a health care facility to Roosevelt Island, come to the meeting tomorrow, July 9 at the Cornell Tech Cafe hosted by Congresswoman Maloney.
Thank you Doctor Grimm and best wishes for your semi-retirement.
