Lakeside Medical Center names Birthing Center in honor of Ahmed H. Barhoush, MD
Press Release
Belle Glade, FL – In an emotional ceremony on May 26th, 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.
Rick Roche, Hospital Administrator, 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 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, Esq., Chair of the Lakeside Health Advisory Board, which oversees the hospital.
“Dr. Barhoush has first-hand knowledge of the challenging health care needs, especially of women, in the rural, agricultural communities in the Glades,” Ms. 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.”
From left to right: Donia Roberts, Esq., Chair, Lakeside Health Advisory Board; Samar Barhoush; Dr. Ahmed H. Barhoush; and Gilbert Alvarez, Lakeside Health Advisory Board Member
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,” Mayor Kyles said. “We are very pleased with the work you have established in the Glades area.”
Dr. Barhoush, 74, completed his medical degree from Cairo University in Egypt in 1966 and 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 Jersey Medical School. He also completed training in GYN Oncology in 1974 at Margaret Hague Hospital in New Jersey.
He was recruited from Jersey City, New Jersey 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,” said Dr. Barhoush. “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, Daniel Kairys, MD, Lakeside Medical Center’s General Surgeon and Chief Medical Officer, stated: “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.”
From left to right: Brian R. Lohmann, Vice Chair, Health Care District of Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners; Samar Barhoush; Dr. Ahmed H. Barhoush; Darcy J. Davis, Health Care District CEO; Janet D. Moreland, ARNP, MSN, Lakeside Medical Center Director of Quality and Patient Safety; and Richard Roche, Chief Administrative Officer and Hospital Administrator
About the Health Care District:
The Health Care District of Palm Beach County, provides primary care and dental care for adults and children at the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics, health coverage programs for eligible uninsured residents, a pharmacy operation, a nationally-recognized Trauma System, registered nurses in nearly 170 public schools, short and long-term skilled nursing at the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riviera Beach, and acute care at Lakeside Medical Center, the county’s only public hospital, serving the rural Glades’ communities.
Contact: Robin Kish, Director of Public Relations, 561-804-5828