Joel J. Nobel
Joel Judovich Nobel (December 8, 1934 – August 13, 2014)[1] was an American anesthesiologist and patient safety advocate best known for founding the crash cart and ECRI Institute.[2]
Early life and education
Nobel was born in Pennsylvania, one of three children born to Philadelphia doctors Dr. Golda R. Nobel and Dr. Bernard D. Judovich.[3] His mother was a psychiatrist who lived to age 107, while his father was a general practitioner.[4]
Nobel graduated from Friends Select School in 1952. He earned an undergraduate degree in English from
Career
In 1968, a four-year-old patient of his at the Presbyterian Hospital at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center died due to a faulty bag valve mask. Nobel, who had alerted others on the staff several times that it was not working properly, was deeply affected by the child's death. "Anger is a great source of energy," he later wrote of the reaction to the incident.[2]
Nobel tested others of those devices on the market and found many to be ineffective. After failing to find anyone to publish his findings, he set up the Emergency Care Research Institute in the 1960s (now ECRI Institute) to publish the Health Devices Journal, which shared information about medical devices.[2]
Nobel invented the MAX cart, which was a new type of crash cart.[5]
Personal life
He was married first to Bonnie Sue Goldberg,[3] and later to Qingqing Lu. He died at his Gladwyne, Pennsylvania home from complications of cancer and diabetes, at age 79. He was survived by his sons Joshua and Adam, and daughter Erika.[2]
References
- ^ Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. Social Security Administration.
- ^ a b c d e Vitez, Michael (August 20, 2014). "Joel J. Nobel, 79, patient-safety advocate". articles.philly.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Weddings" (PDF). The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 3, 1960. p. 4.
- ^ Cook, Bonnie L. (January 27, 2014). "Golda R. Nobel, 107, psychiatrist in Phila". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B6.
- ^ National Museum of American History (August 31, 2010). "National Museum of American History Collects Prototype Medical Emergency Crash Cart". americanhistory.si.edu. Retrieved August 21, 2014.