Medicine on
the Cutting Edge
BETH GOLDSTEIN RAUCHER ’76
OVERSEES THE CARE OF
22,000 PATIENTS ANNUALLY
AND STAFF EDUCATION.
BY KEVIN GRAY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID W. COULTER
The promotion came quickly for Beth Goldstein Raucher ’76. Hired by Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn in July 2006 as vice president for medical quality, she became medical director in September.
She is responsible for assuring high quality of care and safety for patients; education of the medical students, interns, and residents; and the maintenance of credentials by staff physicians to practice medicine
in their specialty and participate in continuing medical education.
“Being medical director is not a desk job!” says Raucher, a biology graduate. “Of course, I do not do any of this by myself, and work side by side with outstanding senior administrators and nurses.”
The medical center discharges 22,000 patients annually. In recent years it has become one of the first New York State designated stroke centers, received approval to perform cardiac catheterization, created an obesity-surgery program named a Bariatric Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, significantly expanded the radiation cancer program, and overseen growth in one of the busiest trauma centers in the state.
Before joining LMC, Raucher worked 20 years at Beth Israel Medical Center, ending as medical director for clinical informatics
and chief of quality improvement. The move to LMC has shifted the way she operates. Previously, she was able to work in administration and still see hospitalized patients in her specialty, infectious diseases.
“That arrangement was ideal during the first half of my career,” she says. “In my new role I do not currently have time to provide hands-on care to patients. However, I hope this will change when I am more familiar with Lutheran and gain experience as a medical director.”
Raucher’s position does allow her to interact with the student and resident teaching program, attend clinical conferences, and give lectures. She also spends time interacting on the patient units “to see how we are doing with respect to quality of care and patient satisfaction.”
Her ties to Lafayette remain strong with husband Harold ’74
and daughter Leslie ’10.
“[We’re still very close to] our very dear friends [Jones Professor
of History] Bob and Sandi Weiner,” Raucher says. “Bob was
best man at our wedding and I am sure was very instrumental
in Leslie’s decision to attend Lafayette this year. His exuberance
about Lafayette and Hillel [Society] is contagious!”
Raucher received a stipend at Lafayette as a biology teaching assistant and conducted undergraduate research. Her work with Robert Chase, her honors thesis adviser, had a profound impact
that has lasted throughout her career.
“I was not particularly interested in studying the influence of environmental crowding on the growth of guppies; however, I had come to know Dr. Chase as a biology major and found him to be an outstanding teacher and caring human being,” she recalls. “I had the sense that he could teach me a lot about my chosen field, how to do research, and help keep me sane in the competitive pre-med environment. So his research interest became my interest, and I
was not disappointed.”
In fact, Raucher adds, Chase is her role model for how she mentors doctors in training to this day.
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