Obituary: Edward Kirsch

Edward Kirsch, 98, of Longboat Key, died Jan. 17.

Born May 21, 1911, in Montreal, he graduated from McGill University with a bachelor’s degree in science and also earned his medical degree there.

Dr. Kirsch interned in Montreal and served three years of residency training at Montefiore Hospital, in New York City. Rather than enter a practice, Dr. Kirsch became assistant director of the Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn, where he served for three years, and then, director of Memorial Hospital, in Kansas City, Mo.

Dr. Kirsch was then appointed executive director of Lebanon Hospital, of Bronx, N.Y., a new facility he organized and opened in 1946 and ran until his retirement in 1976. Eventually, under his guidance, the hospital affiliated with Bronx Hospital and developed into a large teaching hospital and also with Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Kirsch served on the governing boards of the Greater New York Hospital Association, the New York Blood Transfusion Association and the Hospital Credit Exchange. He chaired and served on committees of the Hospital Association of New York State, Greater New York Hospital Association, American College of Hospital Administrators and New York Regional Medical Program. In retirement, Dr. Kirsch was named a consultant to Bronx-Lebanon Hospital.

After retiring in 1976, Dr. Kirsch and his wife, Alice, whom he married in 1946, moved to Longboat Key. He served as president of the Keys Sertoma Club and as president of the board of directors of the Islander Club condominium.

Dr. Kirsch was preceded in death by his wife, Alice. He is survived by his sons, Robert, of Brentwood, Tenn., and Peter, of Cliffside Park, N.J.; friend, Cindy Martineau, of Sarasota; four nieces; and one step-granddaughter.