Harold Freeman, MD, former American Cancer Society president and “father of patient navigation,” has died at age 93.
During his career, Dr. Freeman served as director of surgery at New York City-based Harlem Hospital, and as director of surgery and eventually president and CEO of New York City-based North General Hospital, according to his obituary published by Dignity Memorial.
He was chairman of the U.S. President’s Cancer Panel from 1999 to 2002, and named associate director of the National Cancer Institute and director of the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities in 2000, the obituary said.
He was the first researcher to establish how the intersection of poverty, social injustice and culture was linked to disparities across the cancer continuum, according to an Aug. 20 LinkedIn post from the American Cancer Society.
“His research identified barriers Black communities faced in accessing cancer care, inspiring him to launch the nation’s first patient navigation program at Harlem Hospital in 1990,” the American Cancer Society said in the post. “[The program created a] model that would be adopted nationwide and around the world, earning him the designation of … ‘Father of Patient Navigation.'”
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