2009-J5006
LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending Robert A. Zaloom, M.D., upon the occa-
sion of his designation by Lutheran HealthCare as the recipient of a
Sister Elisabeth Fedde Medal of Service at its 127th Annual Dinner Dance
on May 8, 2010
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize that the
quality and character of life in the communities across New York State
are reflective of the concerned and dedicated efforts of organizations
and individuals who devote themselves to the welfare of the community
and its citizenry; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Robert A. Zaloom, M.D., upon the occasion of his designation by Lutheran
HealthCare as the recipient of a Sister Elisabeth Fedde Medal of Service
at its 127th Annual Dinner Dance, to be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at
Grand Central Terminal on Saturday, May 8, 2010; and
WHEREAS, This year, at its Annual Dinner Dance, Lutheran HealthCare
celebrates its 127-year legacy of providing quality health care to the
communities of Brooklyn and honors those who have made noteworthy
contributions to Lutheran and the patients it serves; and
WHEREAS, Bay Ridge native and Director of the May Ellen and Gerald
Ritter Cardiology Center, Robert A. Zaloom, M.D., has significantly
contributed to Lutheran HealthCare's success and truly merits the Sister
Elisabeth Fedde Medal of Service, named after Lutheran HealthCare's 1883
founder and bestowed upon individuals who continue Sister Fedde's legacy
of service and commitment; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Zaloom has dedicated his career to providing cardiac care
in Brooklyn for more than twenty years; born and raised in Bay Ridge, he
attended St. Patrick's Elementary School and Xaverian High School, where
he began his career in medicine, working as a volunteer nurse's aide at
Coney Island Hospital in a unique high school program, revolutionary for
its time; and
WHEREAS, He went on to attend New York University, continuing to work
in the hospital on weekends to help pay for his education, and after
earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics, he attended
graduate school and earned a master's degree in biochemistry; he then
completed four years of medical school, a three-year internal medicine
residency at Lutheran, followed by a fourth year as Chief Medical Resi-
dent, and a fellowship in cardiology at SUNY Downstate; and
WHEREAS, After graduation, Dr. Zaloom returned to Lutheran as an
attending physician in cardiology and joined the practice of Nagi Bust-
ros, M.D., and Antoine Fernaine, M.D., which recently expanded to
include Thao Ngo, M.D. and George Fernaine, M.D., and was renamed "Bay
Ridge Hearts"; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Zaloom is, in addition, a full attending physician at
Lenox Hill Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mount
Sinai Hospital; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Zaloom regards the crowning achievement of his career to
be the opening of the May Ellen and Gerald Ritter Cardiology Center at
Lutheran Medical Center in 2005; the center recently joined forces with
Mount Sinai and has received both FDNY STEMI Center and New York State
designations to perform emergency and elective angioplasty (PCI), making
it Brooklyn's newest full service cardiac center; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Zaloom and his wife Joan, a former Lutheran CCU nurse,
are the proud and loving parents of four children, all born at Lutheran
Medical Center; and
WHEREAS, He is a member of the Bay Ridge Medical Society and regularly
lectures in the community on cardiac nutrition, which is of special
interest to him; and
WHEREAS, Active in his community as well as his profession, Dr. Zaloom
has coached St. Anselm's soccer and baseball, served as a Lector and
Eucharistic Minister at St. Anselm's Church, and served on the Xaverian
High School Board of Trustees; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such accomplishment are brought to our attention, they should be
recognized and celebrated by all the citizens of the great State of New
York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Robert A. Zaloom, M.D., upon the occasion of his designation by
Lutheran HealthCare as the recipient of a Sister Elisabeth Fedde Medal
of Service at its 127th Annual Dinner Dance on May 8, 2010; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Dr. Robert A. Zaloom.