‘Activist physician’ Joe Greer to give talk Jan. 23


Dr. Pedro “Joe” Greer, chair of the Department of Humanities, Health and Society in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, will deliver a lecture Wed., Jan. 23, focusing on the conjuncture of economics, ethics and healthcare. Greer is delivering his remarks as part of the Office of the Provost’s Life of the Mind Lecture Series.

“The Business of Medicine: Reflections of an Activist Physician,” will take place in the Green Library, Room 200, at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. It is scheduled for 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Pedro Jose Greer, Jr.

Throughout his career, Greer has combined social activism with the practice of medicine. He founded the Camillus Health Concern, a private charity sponsored by the Little Brothers of the Good Shepard, which delivers healthcare to thousands of homeless individuals in Miami-Dade County. Greer also established the St. John Bosco Clinic, which serves disadvantaged people in Little Havana. His autobiography, Waking Up in America: How One Doctor Brings Hope to Those Who Need It Most (1999),is an account of caring for persons who are homeless.

In July 2007, Greer joined the College of Medicine as assistant dean for Academic Affairs. He led the creation of the Department of Humanities, Health, and Society, and became its founding chair in 2009. He and the department faculty have spearheaded a unique, undergraduate medical education program to educate highly skilled, ethical and culturally competent physicians attuned to the complex health and social needs of South Florida. In 2009, Greer was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Most recently, he participated in the TedxFIU event, which brought together speakers from the FIU community who have world -hanging ideas, big and small, from any discipline.

Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Greer graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s in chemistry. He earned his M.D. in 1984 from Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (Mother and Teacher Pontifical Catholic University), a private, Roman Catholic university in the Dominican Republic. He specialized in internal medicine during his residency at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The Jan. 23 lecture is co-sponsored by the Center for the Humanities in an Urban Environment, Alumni Association, WPBT2, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Books & Books, and Exile Studies Program.

To watch Dr. Greer’s full TedxFIU talk below:

By Evelyn S. Perez