Physician, former patient and board member Jerald “Jerry” Einziger, M.D., understands the importance of community

A Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center physician since 1976, Dr. Einziger spent his career in pediatrics and women’s imaging. Known for his caring manner and ability to connect with children, Dr. Einziger eased the way for his small patients. A caregiver at heart, he’s come out of retirement to do mammography part time.

“I don’t know if I’ve retired twice or three times now,” he laughs. “Once you retire, you clearly understand how important social interaction is in terms of your health. I do mammography because it offers me challenges and a feeling of accomplishment.

Patient’s point of view
One evening, Dr. Einziger and his wife, Sheryl, were coming home from dinner when he started to feel off. At first, he dismissed his indigestion and the faint pain between his shoulder blades as nothing to worry about. Then, he broke out in a cold sweat. He called 911, but his symptoms had abated by the time the ambulance arrived.

After examining him, the emergency response personnel promptly delivered him to the emergency department at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center. He went from caregiver to patient when his prior indigestion revealed itself as a symptom of an impending heart attack.

“I had no symptoms and normal lab studies and ECG results. However, the emergency room physician decided to keep an eye on me for a while. In the meantime, the cardiologist was notified and the cath lab was prepared. About 90 minutes after my arrival, my heart rate decreased and my ECG became abnormal. I was rushed to the cath lab for an angioplasty,” he recalls. “I got to experience the hospital’s outstanding care from a patient’s point of view.”

Home within 24 hours, Dr. Einziger recovered quickly from the minimally invasive procedure and even took a walk — with his doctor’s blessing — in his hilly Calabasas neighborhood.

Getting things done
Current Providence Tarzana Foundation board chair, Dr. Einziger has served on the board since its inception. A donor himself, he’s committed to ensuring the hospital has everything it needs to provide state-of-the-art care.

“As a physician, a former patient and a board member, I have an unusual perspective on the

critical importance of community support,” he says. “The best part of being on the board is the opportunity to give back. I want everyone entering the hospital to have access to the best care possible, and philanthropy is the way we get that done.”