Memorial Service Held For Founding Doctor Of WTC Health Program
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
A memorial service was held Tuesday for a doctor who helped get medical care for sick first responders after the September 11th attacks.
Friends and family gathered at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine on the Upper East Side to remember Dr. Stephen Levin, who passed away at from cancer earlier this month.
Levin was a professor of occupational medicine at Mount Sinai who helped launched the World Trade Center Health Program, which was part of the Zadroga Act and cares for nearly 30,000 people.
"It was always, 'How can I help someone else? How can we pass this bill? How can we make sure that working men and women work in an environment where they will not get sick?'" said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
"He would sit down, he would introduce himself, he would make the patient feel welcome, and then he would say, 'Tell me about yourself. Why are you here? Why are you ill?' And he would just listen. That's a remarkable quality," said Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Levin was also a pioneer in the study of asbestos-related diseases and a leader in studying and controlling lead poisoning in construction workers.