Dr. Newman at a lecture in 1988. Image courtesy of the Levy Library’s Arthur H. Aufses, Jr., MD Archives and Records Management.
The Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai received an endowed gift from the Estate of Blanche Ross, facilitated by Trustee Bobbie Abrams, for an annual lecture series. The Dr. Robert Newman Lecture in Addiction aims to attract national academic leaders each year to discuss the most current research and trends in addiction. The lecture is hosted at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in memory of Dr. Newman’s passion to serve patients suffering with addiction.
Dr. Newman was an internationally recognized expert on addiction treatment and one of the early pioneers of viewing addiction as a chronic medical condition. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Medical Center from 1978 to 1997, Dr. Newman worked to expand access to addiction and psychiatric services, HIV and AIDS treatment, and care for the LGBT community. He also oversaw the creation of the Jacob Perlow Hospice, the first Jewish hospice in Manhattan.
As President of Continuum Health Partners from 1997 to 2000, Dr. Newman led the integration and merger of the hospitals now known as Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, and the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. During that time, he effectively fended off efforts to limit opioid treatment program in the city.
Before joining Beth Israel, Dr. Newman served as Assistant Commissioner of Addiction for the New York City Department of Health, where he was the guiding force in creating and expanding what would become the largest network of methadone maintenance treatment programs in the country. Many of the programs are still in operation through Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
His reach extended beyond the United States as he strongly influenced the landscape of opioid treatment in Germany and Hong Kong. In fact, he was dubbed the “methadone apostle/pope” as he achieved a position of worldwide leadership.
Dr. Newman’s remarkable career was grounded in his commitment to public health and never-ending advocacy for underserved populations, which made a tremendous impact on the communities served by the Mount Sinai Health System. He was a passionate and formidable advocate who was driven to use science to propel his activism, stating: “There are times when researchers have a responsibility to involve themselves in the political process to try to directly influence policy implementation. In such instances, the familiar, perhaps more comfortable role of the scientist must be supplemented by political activism to avoid research becoming a rationale for withholding help and to ensure its appropriate role in influencing policy.”