Name Stephen Levin Role Medical Doctor | Died February 7, 2012 | |
Stephen Levin, MD remembers his path to occupational medicine 2009
Stephen M. Levin (Oct. 16, 1941- February 7, 2012) was the Medical Director of the Mount Sinai Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, a Professor of Occupational Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and the Co-Director of the World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program. A graduate of Wesleyan University and then New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Levin was born and raised in Philadelphia to working class parents—his father a carpenter, his mother a hospital worker. He was recognized world-wide as a leader in the field of Occupational Medicine, particularly due to his work on behalf of 9/11 workers and those injured by asbestos in the town of Libby, Montana.
Contents
- Stephen Levin MD remembers his path to occupational medicine 2009
- Career
- World Trade Center workers
- References
Career
Dr. Levin was a 1967 graduate of the New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Levin then spent a decade practicing general medicine in the working class town of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Following this formative experience, he came to Mount Sinai to receive his training in Occupational Medicine. Following completion of his training, he joined the Mount Sinai faculty. He spent the remainder of his career at Mount Sinai, rose through the academic ranks and was promoted to full Professor in 2011.
Dr. Levin became Medical Director of the Mount Sinai Selikoff Center in 1987 . He was active in the Occupational Medicine teaching program for medical students and residents. His research interests focused on asbestos-related disease, other occupational lung diseases and heavy metal toxicity.
World Trade Center workers
Just days after the World Trade Center attacks, Dr. Levin and his colleagues started planning what would become the clinic for WTC responders. Ninety percent of the 10,116 firefighters and other responders reported an acute cough within the first 48 hours, as a study the clinic put out three years later would document. The clinic, which received more than $12 million from the government, has already screened and treated more than 20,000 workers, and released over a dozen studies. One 2006 study showed that approximately 30% of the patients screened (at that point, 12,000) suffered from chronic asthma and bronchitis, and 17% suffered from PTSD and depression. Dr. Levin was instrumental in passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. This legislation is designed to ensure that the 911 first responders are provided with basic medical care needed as a result of their toxic exposures.