Berny’s Story
|
Dr. Berny Rothschild was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. At an early age, he decided to become a doctor so he could help others. He graduated with honors in 1969 from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a Texas Cowboy and president of his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Mu. He completed medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society.
In 1977, Berny completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Dallas Parkland Hospital and moved his family to Corpus Christi. In partnership with Dr. Stan Shoemaker and Dr. Jim Bernard, Jr., he founded the first obstetrics and gynecology group practice in South Texas. Dr. Dale Eubank, another longtime friend, joined the practice soon after. This partnership formed the core of the Coastal Bend Women’s Center which began in 1987 and continues today. |
Dr. Rothschild always pursued the cutting edge of improvements in medical technology in order to ensure he was providing his patients with the highest quality of care. In the 1970s, Dr. Rothschild was one of the first obstetricians in South Texas to utilize epidural anesthesia in the labor and delivery unit. In the 1990s, he was one of the first surgeons in South Texas to perform a laparoscopic hysterectomy. In 2009, at the age of 64, Dr. Rothschild became one of the first gynecological surgeons in South Texas to perform a robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy. He was considered one of the leading pelvic floor reconstruction and incontinence surgeons in America and was often asked to teach these skills to other surgeons across the country. In addition to his private practice, he was an Associate Professor of Medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center where he taught and mentored resident physicians at Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi.
|
For 37 years, Dr. Rothschild devoted his life to medicine, delivering more than 10,000 babies and saving countless lives. He treated each patient with dignity and compassion, and in so doing, he earned the love and respect of his patients, their families, his colleagues and medical staff that witnessed his work. In November 2010, Dr. Rothschild was diagnosed with Stage 3 Multiple Myeloma. It was his personal experience as a cancer patient that inspired him and his family to extend his legacy by establishing a foundation that would focus on training and educating medical students to become empathetic & compassionate physicians. Shortly before his death in 2012, they established the Dr. Berny Rothschild Foundation.
Berny’s 40th medical school class reunion at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston took place on March 23, 2013. There, Dr. Stan Shoemaker, Berny’s medical school classmate, medical partner and friend of more than 35 years, announced the establishment of the Dr. Berny Rothschild Award for Compassion in Medicine, a scholarship to be awarded to an incoming fourth-year medical student at UTMB who best exemplifies Berny’s dedication to compassionate care and excellence in medical practice. In 2018, The Dr. Berny Rothschild Foundation became a proud supporter of the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and established the Dr. Berny Rothschild Foundation Endowed Excellence fund. Specifically, the endowment will support and expand some of the school's unique Leading EDGE curriculum centered around Empathetic and Compassionate Care, such as the Art of Bedside Manner. |
|
Dr. Rothschild was loved and respected by all who knew him. He touched countless lives and will forever be remembered for his devotion to his patients and the practice of medicine and for his love for his family – his son Joey, daughter-in-law Cathy, grandson Charlie, son Nick, and wife Vicki.
Back to: Purpose