PETER GROSS

GROSS--Peter A., MD. Infectious disease specialist who championed the quality of healthcare and was a prolific author of medical and scientific articles, died on March 20 of complications from heart surgery. He was 81 years old. Devoted to many aspects of medicine, especially influenza management, treatment and prevention, Peter was a clinician, researcher, epidemiologist, administrator, educator, author, journal reviewer, and lecturer. All aspects of his work targeted improving patient care and population health. Early in the computer age, Peter utilized technology to advance and integrate quality and performance as measurable indicators of success. In 2012, Peter founded and was named chairman of the Hackensack Physician-Hospi- tal Alliance Accountable Care Organization (ACO), funded by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), that underscored the importance of positive patient outcomes rather than volume of healthcare services. The success of the Hackensack ACO spurred him to write a book titled "Pathways to a Successful Accountable Care Organization," to be published this summer by Johns Hopkins University Press. Peter graduated cum laude from Amherst College in Amherst, MA. He attended Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, followed by residencies at Yale and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, MA. After returning to Yale for an infectious disease fellowship, he was appointed assistant professor of medicine in the Yale University School of Medicine. During his medical career, Peter was named associate clinical professor of medicine at College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and professor of medicine at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Most recently, he was a faculty member at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. Peter spent the greatest part of his medical career at Hackensack University MedicalCenter in Hackensack, NJ. He arrived in 1974 as chief of infectious diseases, the only infectious disease doctor at the time in the northern part of the State. For more than two decades, he was Hackensack's chief of medicine, during which time he was a member of the hospital's board of trustees. He was chief medical officer and executive vice president for six years before his retirement. On the national medical scene, Peter chaired the US Food & Drug Administration's Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee for four years. He was an expert panel member of the Medicare National Pneumonia Project. At the National Institutes of Health, he also chaired a special section in the division of research grants. Throughout his career, Peter devoted time to supporting professional organizations as chairman and committee member. He was awarded numerous government and corporate grants, some which continued for decades. Peter is survived by his wife, Reggie, children, Debby, Mike and Dan, their spouses, Mark, Kate and Karen, grandchildren, Natalie, Wesley and Amelia and brother, Sheldon. A Celebration of Life will be held at a future date when family and guests can hug each other and sit side-by-side in honor of this outstanding husband, father, Peepa (Grandpa Peter), relative, friend, doctor, and coworker. Donation recipients will be announced at the Celebration of Life.