I

Health & Fitness

PROFILE

Dedicated To Beaumont

30-year lay volunteer helps move medicine and research forward.

Ed Katz of the Human Investigation Committee

Jill Davidson Sklar

Special to the Jewish News

W

hen Ed Katz first started
his volunteer work with
the Human Investigation
Committee at Beaumont, Royal Oak, in
1979,"My Sharona" played endlessly on
the radio, the cost of a gallon of gas was 86
cents and Jimmy Carter was president. At
the time, Katz was 60.
"My friend, Dr. Julius Rutzky, invited me
to be a part of the committee as a volun-
teer," said Katz, a Birmingham resident.
With his wife and business partner,
Genevieve, Katz owned Acme Sporting
Goods, a store located next to his father's
clothing store, Acme Clothing, in downtown
Detroit. Dr. Rutzky became a patron of the
store and one day invited Katz to dinner. A
friendship — and a tradition — was born
in the same night. The pair would share
Friday night dinners for the next 50 years.
So when Rutzky asked Katz to serve

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May 21 2009

on the then newly formed Human
Investigation Committee, Katz obliged. "I
had no idea then that I would be still vol-
unteering after all this time:' he said.
The Human Investigation Committee,
based on federal regulations, serves as the
Institutional Review Board for Beaumont
and is charged with the oversight of all
human subjects research conducted
at Beaumont facilities. The committee
members are generally physicians, nurses,
scientists, administrators and lawyers;
Katz is one of two community or business
representatives to serve on Beaumont's
HIC committees.
"Ed Katz fulfills a truly important
role as community representative and
has been a longstanding, dedicated and
loyal member of the committee," says
Phillip Bendick, Ph.D., chair of the HIC at
Beaumont.
"He has served with unfailing enthusi-
asm and is truly an ardent supporter of
Beaumont and clinical research."

Katz loves his work on the commit-
tee, especially since he sold his business,
Target Sports in Royal Oak, seven years
ago. Every week, he spends hours reading
through a thick pile of scientific docu-
ments to ensure that the research work at
Beaumont is safe and ethical for partici-
pants. Every other week, he participates in
two-hour meetings to represent the voice
of the lay community.
"I am always impressed with the care
and concern Beaumont researchers have
toward the research participants': Katz said.
Rabbi David Nelson of Congregation
Beth Shalom in Oak Park said Katz has a
long history of generosity, most recently
helping to secure a donation of chairs
for the congregation's chapel. The chairs
were once a part of the Detroit location of
Congregation B'nai David, a congregation
Katz's mother helped to found.
"He has been a friend of mine and
friend of the congregation': said Rabbi
Nelson, who also donates his time as a

member of the ethics committee and
a provider of chaplaincy services at
Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak.
"Ed is a very quietly generous and suc-
cessful man. He is very passionate about
his work at Beaumont."
Still, Katz always made time for his
family, including his and Genevieve's
two children, Marsha, who now lives in
Montana, and Roger, who lives in Vermont.
Genevieve died four years ago. "She was
my partner in everything;' he said.
Though he turns 90 this month, Katz
plans to continue his work on the com-
mittee. "Being a part of the progression of
medicine and science is so rewarding," he
says.
Outside of Beaumont, Ed enjoys spend-
ing time volunteering to serve on four
civic committees as well as practicing his
favorite hobby: photography. LI

Jill Sklar is publications coordinator for

Oakland County-based Beaumont Hospitals.