Thursday, June 22, 2006
Rest in peace, Dr. Gantz
Got an e-mail today from my local fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue support group. The doctor of many of the support group members has died. I was fortunate enough to meet him last year and greatly enjoyed one of his presentations. He was hilarious, charming and intelligent. He was the foremost expert on CFIDS/ME in our area and one of the few who truly seemed to understand the profound implications of the illness, so the loss is great for that reason alone. I will never forget him. I have posted below an article from a local newspaper:
Cancer claims beloved Boulder physician
Nelson Gantz known as a brilliant, eccentric man
By Ryan Morgan, Camera Staff Writer
June 21, 2006
Dr. Nelson Gantz, the chief of infectious diseases for Boulder Community Hospital, died of cancer Tuesday in Boulder. He was 64.
Gantz's friends and colleagues said they're going to miss an intelligent, friendly and sometimes-eccentric man.
Alicia Maltzman, a nurse practitioner who worked closely with Gantz, said he was a "brilliant" physician who had an uncanny ability to find his way to the correct diagnosis.
"He could figure out the key to any puzzle," Maltzman said. "He taught me everything I know."
Gantz helped lead the response when West Nile virus swept into Boulder County in 2003. He was able to help patients cope with the often-baffling neurological symptoms the disease left in its wake, Maltzman said.
"He had a very calming presence," she said. "He validated the way you felt, and he understood that what you were feeling was real. I think that's a rare quality in a physician, to be able to empathize with patients the way he was able to."
Gantz also helped to identify and treat another little-understood illness, chronic fatigue syndrome. He was one of the authors who wrote the official "critical case definition" that explains the disease. He was also author or co-author of 77 medical journal articles, and he contributed chapters on infectious diseases to 81 medical books over the years.
Despite his accomplishments, Maltzman said, Gantz was an accessible, friendly man who liked to perform card tricks to put his patients at ease.
"I had several patients tell me that they'll never forget the first time they met Dr. Gantz," she said.
Patti Sedano, a hospital spokeswoman, said Gantz always had time for laughs.
"You'd finish up with business, and he'd say, 'Hey, do you want to see a trick?'" Sedano said. "He reminded me of Patch Adams — he always had a smile on his face."
Jamie Jensen, director of primary care services for Boulder Community Hospital, said Gantz was "an extraordinary human being."
He was garrulous and loved the spotlight, she said, and was "passionate about medicine."
"The community as a whole and our organization as a hospital has suffered a huge loss with the passing of Nelson," she said. "His accomplishments are many, and his medical expertise is going to be missed."
Gantz started working for Boulder Community's Beacon Clinic in 2003. Before that, he was chairman of both the Department of Medicine and the Division of Infectious Disease at the Pinnacle Health Center in Harrisburg, Pa. Prior to that, he was a professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Mass.
An avid runner who jogged three or four miles daily, Gantz completed the Boston Marathon at least 10 times.
"Nelson was known for his signature bow tie, infectious and perpetual smile, therapeutic use of humor and card magic for patients and families, and his uncanny skill, intelligence and instinct for targeting the most difficult and uncommon infectious diseases," his wife, Roberta Gantz, said in a statement Tuesday.
Gantz's other survivors include a son, David Gantz, of Florida; a daughter, Kimberly Gantz, of Boulder; his mother, Francis Elson, of Southfield, Mich.; and a sister, Arlene Ondrisek, of Rochester, Mich.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at (303) 473-1333 or morganr@dailycamera.com
Cancer claims beloved Boulder physician
Nelson Gantz known as a brilliant, eccentric man
By Ryan Morgan, Camera Staff Writer
June 21, 2006
Dr. Nelson Gantz, the chief of infectious diseases for Boulder Community Hospital, died of cancer Tuesday in Boulder. He was 64.
Gantz's friends and colleagues said they're going to miss an intelligent, friendly and sometimes-eccentric man.
Alicia Maltzman, a nurse practitioner who worked closely with Gantz, said he was a "brilliant" physician who had an uncanny ability to find his way to the correct diagnosis.
"He could figure out the key to any puzzle," Maltzman said. "He taught me everything I know."
Gantz helped lead the response when West Nile virus swept into Boulder County in 2003. He was able to help patients cope with the often-baffling neurological symptoms the disease left in its wake, Maltzman said.
"He had a very calming presence," she said. "He validated the way you felt, and he understood that what you were feeling was real. I think that's a rare quality in a physician, to be able to empathize with patients the way he was able to."
Gantz also helped to identify and treat another little-understood illness, chronic fatigue syndrome. He was one of the authors who wrote the official "critical case definition" that explains the disease. He was also author or co-author of 77 medical journal articles, and he contributed chapters on infectious diseases to 81 medical books over the years.
Despite his accomplishments, Maltzman said, Gantz was an accessible, friendly man who liked to perform card tricks to put his patients at ease.
"I had several patients tell me that they'll never forget the first time they met Dr. Gantz," she said.
Patti Sedano, a hospital spokeswoman, said Gantz always had time for laughs.
"You'd finish up with business, and he'd say, 'Hey, do you want to see a trick?'" Sedano said. "He reminded me of Patch Adams — he always had a smile on his face."
Jamie Jensen, director of primary care services for Boulder Community Hospital, said Gantz was "an extraordinary human being."
He was garrulous and loved the spotlight, she said, and was "passionate about medicine."
"The community as a whole and our organization as a hospital has suffered a huge loss with the passing of Nelson," she said. "His accomplishments are many, and his medical expertise is going to be missed."
Gantz started working for Boulder Community's Beacon Clinic in 2003. Before that, he was chairman of both the Department of Medicine and the Division of Infectious Disease at the Pinnacle Health Center in Harrisburg, Pa. Prior to that, he was a professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Mass.
An avid runner who jogged three or four miles daily, Gantz completed the Boston Marathon at least 10 times.
"Nelson was known for his signature bow tie, infectious and perpetual smile, therapeutic use of humor and card magic for patients and families, and his uncanny skill, intelligence and instinct for targeting the most difficult and uncommon infectious diseases," his wife, Roberta Gantz, said in a statement Tuesday.
Gantz's other survivors include a son, David Gantz, of Florida; a daughter, Kimberly Gantz, of Boulder; his mother, Francis Elson, of Southfield, Mich.; and a sister, Arlene Ondrisek, of Rochester, Mich.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at (303) 473-1333 or morganr@dailycamera.com
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