Joel Kavet

KAVET

JOEL KAVET (1940 - 2023)

Joel Kavet, an innovative health care professional and benefactor, a Red Cross volunteer assisting Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the last 10 years, a Navy veteran of the Cuban Missile Crisis era, and a 48-year resident of Bethesda, MD, died April 7, 2023, after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 82.

Joel was a life-long learner – interested in everything and everyone. He was passionate about public service and politics. He was a kind and faithful friend. He had a sharp wit and a great sense of humor. He believed in making life better for those he served during his long public health career, and for the many injured veterans and first responders he served during his retirement.

Joel also served as a public member for three years on the Board of Professional Responsibility (Ethics) of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and recently was reappointed by the Court to a term that would have expired in 2025. He earned the admiration of the legal colleagues with whom he served.

As Director of Managed Care Program Development & Research at The United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds, Joel created a landmark program, MineRx, widely recognized as a national model for consumer-directed safe use of medications.

He understood particularly how his efforts would benefit individuals whose health was affected by their occupational exposures and experiences during their years in the coal mines. This was Joel's calling card for all the assignments he decided to tackle.

Joel also volunteered for more than a decade as a kitchen dishwasher at Camp Kieve, Nobleboro, ME, during special summer sessions for New York Fire and Police Department survivors of 9/11 and their families. He will be missed greatly by the many Camp alumni and staff.

Joel earned a Doctorate in Health Service Administration (1972) and a Master's Degree in Public Health (1967) from the Harvard and Yale Schools of Public Health respectively,

He devoted his professional life in both the public and private sector to developing health policies to ameliorate the economic impacts of disease.

In August 2022 Joel endowed the "Joel Kavet, MPH '67, ScD and Robert Kavet, MS, ScD Scholarship Fund" at the Yale School of Public Health, a gift matched by funds from the school. This award embodied Joel's belief that solutions to complicated public health issues require an educational system fed by motivated students prepared to tackle today's and tomorrow's problems.

At Harvard, developed a lifetime friendship with Dr. Rashi Fein (and his family), a noted economist and health policy expert, whom Joel regarded as a mentor. After Dr. Fein's death in 2014, Joel assisted in establishing the Rashi Fein Internship in Health Policy. It seeks outstanding students interested in promoting equitable access to high quality, affordable, cost-effective health care. Until recently Joel was active in reviewing applications for this prestigious award.

It was in his volunteer work post-retirement that Joel's passion for public service was most on display. In 2012, Joel became a Red Cross Volunteer supporting Occupational Therapy Assistive Technology at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Sometimes referred to as the "Wounded Warrior" section of the hospital, Assistive Technology designs a prosthetic or technical solution tailored to the needs of an individual veteran suffering the scars of his or her service. His colleagues, military staff, and the veterans receiving treatment all grew to love and respect Joel for his dedication and kindness of spirit.

Early in his career, Joel worked for 10 years in the US Public Health Service on numerous projects for optimizing the use of public funds and resources to better the public's health and welfare. In 1985 he left government service for the private sector.

Joel was born in Brooklyn, NY on July 27, 1940, to the late Samuel and Ruth Kavet. He attended the Yeshivah of Flatbush in Brooklyn, graduating in 1958. He attended college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), graduating in 1962 with a B.S. in Economics.

Beyond academics, Joel was a manager for RPI's men's ice hockey team, and he often attended the team's annual reunions. He also enjoyed mentoring prospective RPI students.

A graduate of the US Navy Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at RPI, Joel spent two years as a Lieutenant serving on a radar picket ship, USS Investigator, during the Cuban Missile Crisis naval blockade.

Joel came to admire the rigor, structure, and ritual of his military experience, which informed his lifestyle choices and character throughout his life.

A life-long US Navy proponent, his ecumenical support for the other US armed services prompted him to volunteer as an incoming "cadet candidate" at West Point during R(eception) Day Rehearsal, where he was harangued about following orders, double-timing across The Plain and parade ground, and learning how to salute Army-style.

Raised as an Orthodox Jew, he extended his ecumenicism to be the Confirmation Sponsor of Kate Mannle and the godfather of George Janvier. Until he died, he also took part in a zoom group of friends and family studying the Talmud, a collection of centuries-old writings covering the gamut of Jewish law and tradition.

Among many other interests Joel enjoyed walking, driving his 1986 red Mercedes sports car, and traveling.

He frequented the Politics and Prose independent bookstore in Washington, DC and took several of its literature and politics inspired trips to Europe, including to France and Spain.

Whenever he traveled to Europe, Joel made a point to sojourn in London for several days at the front and back ends of a trip. He attended the theater, discovered the city's lesser-known historical and cultural highlights, and found repose in its quiet gardens.

Joel was laid to rest at Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ on April 16, 2023, alongside his parents. He is survived by his brother, Robert, sister-in-law Helayne Waldman of Oakland, CA, and nephew Jacob Kavet of Los Angeles, CA, as well as by many cousins and friends. He will be missed by all who knew him. Rest in Peace.

Donations in Joel's honor can be sent to The Wounded Warrior Project at https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ or to St. Jude Research Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/donate/srch/donate-in-honor-or-memory-of-someone.html.