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GENERATIONAL
PERSPECTIVES
continued from page 17
might have helped with the MCAT). So much for counseling as my future husband Herb Brown who then attended Tufts Univer-
to what I couldn’t do. Nevertheless, I made it and have had a ful- sity School of Medicine becoming a physician.
filling career in Obstetrics and Gynecology (43 years in total).
In 1972, we came to visit my brother, Irving Ratner, and his
During my career, I had a private practice in Everett. MA for 3 family for two weeks and they were pied pipers encouraging us to
years, served in the navy at Jacksonville, FL for 2 years, was part move to San Antonio and in that two weeks Herb rented an office
of a private practice in New Brunswick, NJ for 3 years, before to practice OB/GYN and we purchased a home.
being enticed to come to San Antonio to practice privately
OB/GYN for 21 years. Subsequently, I joined the faculty at UTH- After moving here, I decided to change careers and leave the lab-
SCSA in the department of OB/GYN. In addition to the standard oratory and study nursing, graduating UTHSC School of Nursing
practice of OB/GYN, I served as Medical Director of the local af- in 1976. I became a pediatric oncology nurse at Christus Santa
filiate of Planned Parenthood. For 26 years. Finally, I served for Rosa Children’s Hospital and retired from there in 2000.
two years as Chief of Family Health Services for the San Antonio
Metropolitan Health District. We were very proud when our older son, Marc, also became a
physician, and his brother, Josh said there were enough physicians
Following retirement in 2000, I serve as an Instructor of opera in the family and he went into business.
appreciation at the Academy of Learning in Retirement here in
San Antonio. Marc Brown, MD
(Dallas County Medical Society member)
Sylvia Brown, RN
My father, Louis Ratner, was born in Derechin, Poland/Russia Having been raised by a father and uncle who were both in pri-
vate medical practice, and a mother, two aunts, and cousins in var-
in 1893. This was a very small village, but he did have the oppor- ious health care disciplines, the appeal of a medical career was
tunity to attend the Gymnasium. He never finished his education, immediately evident; there was daily evidence of both intellectual
but I think he went as far as would be a freshman in college in the engagement and the ability to positively affect peoples’ lives. Given
U.S. He escaped to the U.S. in the 1920’s to avoid being drafted my interests in both science (summer research programs, visits to
into the Russian army (a death sentence in those days) and settled relatives’ offices) and finance, I was drawn to becoming a private
in Boston, where he met and married my mother, Florence Yuse- physician as a means to directly impact patients, and yet manage
fovitch. my own affairs in so doing: employer rather than employee. I thus
was thrilled to be offered admission to a combined 6-year medical
My brother, Irving Ratner and I grew up in Boston, Mass. at- education program (undergrad plus medical school) at the Uni-
tending the public schools. All throughout our childhood my fa- versity of Michigan directly from high school in San Antonio.
ther expressed the importance of education. He had said if the
opportunity had been there he would have liked to be a physician. After medical school came a residency in anesthesiology at UT
He also said having a background in science would always provide Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and a research fellowship
opportunities in life. in transplant anesthesia. My first position was at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center in Los Angeles, as head of transplant anesthesiol-
While in high school I was always interested in biology and after ogy. The lure of Texas proved too strong, however, and I returned
taking tests at the Jewish Vocational Agency in Boston it was de- to Dallas to found a private group of anesthesiologists, Metro
termined that that would be a good route to pursue. Anesthesia Consultants. I have helped manage and lead this group
over the succeeding 25 years, and it has grown to now include 87
I attended Boston University getting a bachelor’s degree in bi- physicians (including 8 hospital contracts around DFW), as well
ology in 1957. Subsequently, my first job was at the Boston Dis- as a Management Services Organization for others. I’ve served as
pensary, a Tufts Medical affiliate, where I worked for a biochemist Chief of Staff, and on Governing Boards of two hospitals, follow-
for one year. The next year I was employed by the Massachusetts ing the examples set by my father and uncle of the importance of
Department of Public Health, Virus Section where I worked for physician citizenship.
10 years. Here we did research and diagnostic tests on polio and
influenza viruses. My sister-in-law, Joan Ratner, also worked there I particularly relish my continued interaction with my relatives
before moving to San Antonio. While at Boston University, I met around Texas, both on medical issues and otherwise.
18 San Antonio Medicine • June 2017
