When it came time for Morton Goldfarb, MD to choose a career, his route appeared pretty certain: “I like science and I like people,” he says, “so medicine seemed like the clear choice.” Arriving at a specialty, though, was a little more complicated. He gravitated toward surgery, then cosmetic surgery, but found the mix of patients to be a bit too uniform for his interests. That's when he ventured into otolaryngology, and he's found it to be the best of both worlds ever since.
“As specialties go, ENT is unique,” Goldfarb says. “I've always loved anatomy, and in this field there's just a potpourri of different areas to deal with. And as to the demographics, we see patients from birth to geriatrics and from all socio-economic groups—the whole milieu of society.”
A native of Birmingham, Goldfarb was married with two children when he was accepted for an ENT residency at St. Vincent's Hospital in 1965. In 1971 he formed ENT Associates of Alabama, with a $50,000 loan from his father. Located at St. Vincent's since the early 1990s, the practice includes 15 doctors in nine offices and a staff of about a hundred.
Goldfarb says that the dominant trend since he first began practicing is specialization: “I've had training at University Hospital that allows me to do laryngectomies [partial or complete surgical removal of the larynx], neck dissections, and difficult kinds of head/neck cancers. When I was first training, thyroidectomies were not yet common. Whereas today, there are new doctors who are specializing just in thyroid. So those who would have been doing general surgery are now honing in on certain areas as we gain more experience with them.”
The second biggest change in daily practice, he says, is the political landscape with regards to medicine: “What's happened is that we've become pawns to big money, to insurance companies, and the government is trying to control it all. With money becoming the big focus, doctors have to jump through so many hoops it makes it difficult to do our jobs.
“It would also be good if doctors could speak with one voice and have some role in controlling our destiny. If things become bad enough, maybe the powers that be will see the light. ”
In contrast, Goldfarb says his group has had “a beautiful relationship with the administration and physician leadership at St. Vincent's over the years, and we keep finding new ways to work in symphony together for the betterment of the patient. That's been our slogan for a number of years, and especially now with Dr. John O'Neil as CEO. The relationships the hospital has built with its medical staff are exemplary, and I think bodes very well for the people who live in our area.”
Away from the routine of daily practice, Goldfarb has found solace in two highly non-medical pastimes: collecting and restoring classic motorcycles, and raising and judging show dogs, with a special interest in German shepherds. He became an American Kennel judge in 1978, and is one of only three Americans ever licensed to judge German shepherd competitions in Germany.
“I love the breed,” he says. “They're versatile, they're super-intelligent, they're beautiful dogs, and they're superb in temperament. As domestic animals, dogs come from wolves, and it shows. We have the saying, 'Study the wolf, and you know the dog.'”
His motorcycle interests also have an international focus: the British manufacturer Vincent, best known for its Vincent Black Lightning. But Goldfarb's favorite is an even rarer breed—the Vincent Black Shadow. “They're beautiful works of design,” he says. “Absolutely classic bikes, and I really enjoy them.”