In an emotional ceremony on Thursday, May 26 in Belle Glade, Lakeside Medical Center unveiled the bright, new sign that now bears the name “Ahmed H. Barhoush, M.D. Birthing Center” in recognition of the physician who has served as hospital chief of staff and practiced as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Belle Glade for more than four decades.
Hospital Administrator Rick Roche welcomed the dozens of family, friends, coworkers, hospital staff and public officials who gathered to honor Dr. Barhoush for delivering generations of local newborns.
“Dr. Barhoush has a living legacy in this region,” said Darcy J. Davis, chief executive officer of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, which owns and operates Lakeside Medical Center, the county’s only public hospital. “It’s estimated that he has delivered more than 17,000 Glades babies. The Health Care District of Palm Beach County thanks him for his compassion, dedicated service and leadership.”
Brian R. Lohmann, vice chair of the Health Care District board, praised Dr. Barhoush’s commitment to Lakeside Medical Center, the Glades community and his family. Those comments were underscored in a proclamation read by Donia Roberts, chair of the Lakeside Health Advisory Board, which oversees the hospital.
“Dr. Barhoush has firsthand knowledge of the challenging healthcare needs, especially of women, in the rural, agricultural communities in the Glades,” Roberts said. “Dr. Barhoush has been an active member of the medical staff since 1974, has helped educate and advance the careers of Glades General Hospital and Lakeside Medical Center nurses, and has helped form the future of medicine by teaching and mentoring medical students and Glades’ family medicine residency physicians.”
Mayor Joe Kyles also presented Dr. Barhoush with a proclamation from the City of South Bay and thanked the physician for being such a humble, caring man who always has a smile on his face. “There are a lot of doctors who have come and gone. But by the same token, you decided to open up your own practice here,” Kyles said. “We are very pleased with the work you have established in the Glades area.”
Dr. Barhoush, 74, earned his medical degree from Cairo University in Egypt in 1966 and completed his training in obstetrics and gynecology in New York and New Jersey from 1970 to 1973 at St. Clare’s Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and New Jersey Medical School. He also completed training in 1974 at Margaret Hague Hospital in New Jersey. He was recruited in April 1974 to provide ob/gyn, pediatric, minor surgery and general medicine services for the former Glades General Hospital.
Both Dr. Barhoush and his wife, Samar, were visibly moved when Melissa Carter, Lakeside Medical Center’s OB nurse manager, and Sylvia Hall, OB assistant nurse manager, unveiled the new sign at the entrance to the hospital’s birthing center. In his speech, Dr. Barhoush thanked the Health Care District, the Lakeside Health Advisory Board, his office staff and the hospital OB and OR staff, whom he said he considers his “family.”
“I’m very humbled to have my name displayed here,” Dr. Barhoush said. “The people of the Glades are a rare breed. They are kind, humble, hardworking and good neighbors. We are lucky to be a part of it.”
In his remarks, Dr. Daniel Kairys, Lakeside Medical Center’s general surgeon and chief medical officer, said, “I’ve learned a lot from Dr. Barhoush. He’s a ‘doctor’s doctor’ whose commitment to his patients and this area has inspired me.”
“You could have gone anywhere,” added Gilbert Alvarez, Lakeside Health Advisory Board member. “But you decided to stay here with us because this is where we need you.”
For more info., visit www.lakesidemedical.org.
ABOVE: Christening the Ahmed H. Barhoush Birthing Center are (L-R): Lakeside Health Advisory Board Chair Donia Roberts, Samar Barhoush, Dr. Barhoush and LHAB member Gilbert Alvarez.
