Eisenberg '68 remembered for winning intellect, personality

John Eisenberg '68, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, died Sunday in his home in Potomac, Md., after a year-long struggle with a brain tumor.

Eisenberg will be remembered for brightening lives, both with his sunny personality and with his improvements in health care for patients nationwide. His intelligence and exuberance are what friends say made him unique.

Eisenberg was the "nicest, friendliest, most inspired and most inspiring" man one could imagine, said Clifford Karchmer '68, who has known Eisenberg since they attended kindergarten together.

"He had no faults," added Karchmer, who continued his friendship with Eisenberg while the two were undergraduates at the University.

At Princeton, Eisenberg proved himself the "hardest worker," Karchmer said, earning a degree in history while studying pre-medical curriculum and graduating Magna Cum Laude.

"He was an all-around fabulous reflection of the Princeton experience," Karchmer said pointing to both Eisenberg's graceful interdisciplinary work and kind nature.

After Princeton, Eisenberg graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1972. Continuing his interest in a wide array of fields, he went on to earn an MBA degree at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

After serving as chairman of the department of medicine and physician-in-chief at Georgetown University, Eisenberg joined the Congressional Physician Payment Review Commission in 1997.

Uwe Reinhardt, a professor in the Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, befriended Eisenberg while the two served together on the commission, which advised Medicare on paying physicians.

During hearings for the committee, Reinhardt and Eisenberg sat through eight-hour stretches of testimony, caught every detail and was even able to provide an impromptu half-hour summary at the end, Reinhardt said.

While at AHRQ, Eisenberg found the perfect use for both his medical knowledge and compassion for others. He spearheaded the federal government's efforts to improve patient safety by reducing medical errors and led AHRQ into little-explored areas of research, including reducing health care disparities and improving health care based on scientific evidence. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson recognized Eisenberg's dedication to ensuring the highest quality health care to patients."Largely through his efforts, improving patient safety and health care quality are top national priorities," Thompson said in a statement.

Even more impressive than his intellect, though, was Eisenberg's cheerfulness.

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"He was somebody so brilliant and competent, yet was chronically kind and cheerful," Reinhardt said. "It's very rare that you have all that packaged together." (Senior writer Molly Gulland contributed to this story)