In 1987, at the age of 57, Dr. Herbert Lourie was shot and killed in his doorway by an unsatisfied former patient.

Soon after, his wife, Betty Lourie went to the Central New York Community Foundation to set up a fund that would financially support an annual lecture at Syracuse University, in order to honor her husband’s memory.

The 27th-annual Herbert Lourie Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Central New York Community Foundation and SU, brings in a speaker from the health care community who can talk about hot button health care policy topics that are relevant to the Syracuse community.

This year’s speaker, Dr. James Knickman, president and CEO of the New York State Health Foundation, will be giving a presentation entitled “Patients As Consumers: Is It Time To Make Health Care Like Other Service Industries?” The event, which is open to the public, will take place on Thursday, Oct. 8 from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Dr. Paul and Natalie Strasser Legacy Room, 220 Eggers Hall.

It will begin with Knickman’s lecture, and then people will be able to ask questions regarding the ideas in his presentation or about anything they feel Knickman might be able to answer. After, there will a reception for all attendees.

Since 2006, NYSHealth, a private foundation that advocates for accessible health care for all New Yorkers has invested more than $100 million in enterprises promoting and expanding the accessibility of health care in New York state, under the leadership of Knickman.

“Health care is such a huge topic in America and (Knickman) has spent a large part of his professional career researching about how people cope without health insurance and how we can make health insurance more accessible,” said Len Lopoo, the director of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs’ Center for Policy Research, which coordinates and plans the event in its entirety using the funds allotted by the CNY Community Foundation and the university. “So it just seemed that he was the perfect candidate to further this discussion on the Syracuse campus.”

Lopoo and the Center for Policy Research hope to see people from all over the Syracuse community — including the surrounding medical facilities such as Crouse Hospital, SUNY Upstate Medical Center — attend the event. They added that they hope SU students, faculty and staff and other members of the community who are directly affected by the health care system in America come to the lecture.

While the Center for Policy Research plans for the event, the Central New York Community Foundation manages the fund, and thus, sponsors the event every year using the money from it.

“Our role is to support people in achieving charitable goals and to help make sure that those goals are achieved through funds like these,” said Jennifer Owens, vice president of development and marketing at the Central New York Community Foundation.

The Central New York Community Foundation manages about 710 funds, each with a distinct goal and purpose. Owens pointed out that a number of the funds the CNYCF oversees are memorial funds.

“People are motivated because they are looking for a way to honor someone when they die suddenly,” Owens said.

Owens added that charity is often a way to lessen the pain by doing something to honor their memory. She said there are a lot of non-memorial funds, but “there’s something about tragedy that makes people want to do good.”

“We would love for everyone in our community — faculty, staff, students, administrators — to attend,” Lopoo said. “I think it’s a really great opportunity to see what health care in this country looks like and the direction it’s heading in.”

Published on October 7, 2015 at 10:35 pm

Contact Joanna: jorland@syr.edu