IN REMEMBRANCE
IN REMEMBRANCE:
PHILIP FEITELSON, MD
SEPT. 16, 1941 - MAY 2020
My father, Dr. Philip J. Feitelson, passed away in May after
45 years spent in the practice of internal medicine.
He was born, raised and spent nearly his entire life
in Louisville. He grew up as an avid baseball fan playing
on his neighborhood teams, Jewish Community
Center teams and ultimately his high school team.
He graduated from Atherton High School and then
attended the University of Michigan. After three years
as a Wolverine, he was accepted into the University of Louisville
School of Medicine.
He graduated in the top 1% of his class and went into residency
in internal medicine. He used to talk about how he had planned to
be a surgeon, but wanted to get a good base knowledge in medicine
first. With each passing year of his residency, he would realize that
there was more and more he wanted to know or felt he needed to
know. During this time, a friend set him up on a blind date with a
headstrong Catholic ICU nurse from Georgia. They married (much
to the chagrin of both of their mothers) and celebrated their 50 th
anniversary last year. He finished his residency and was accepted
into a nephrology fellowship at The University of Chicago.
After a brief stint in the Navy in Southern California, he returned
to Louisville and found his calling in internal medicine. As the
city grew and physicians began to move to the suburbs, he stayed
downtown to care for the patients who would become his extended
family. He was an old-school solo practitioner who thrived on
the patient-physician relationship. His passion was improving the
health of his patients. He saw all of his own patients in the hospital,
whether on the floor or in the ICU. He answered every call from the
answering service or nurses whether it was 2 pm or 2 am. When
asked what he would want to do if he had only one year left to live,
he said, “I’d want to find out why Ms. Smith is bleeding and why
Mr. Johnson’s blood pressure is not well-controlled.”
He had an amazing ability to empathize with patients. He would
come out of an exam room, arm draped across a patient’s shoulder,
pat their arm, smile and laugh. Then he would guide them to better
health. Over the years, he sent countless numbers of letters to his
patients to encourage them to do this or try that to help them improve.
When he retired, he hand-delivered their medical records
so he would have one more opportunity to be there for and with
them. Since his retirement, his patients have told me they have not
been able to find a more caring physician, someone who really saw
them and met them where they were.
During his 45 years in practice, his vacations were few and far
between. His life was medicine and his patients…and Michigan
football. If he wasn’t at the game, he was watching it and laughing
hard when his team made the big play. He loved all things Michigan.
He would stop people on the streets and in stores to say “Go
Blue!” if they were wearing Michigan apparel. He had an easy way
of talking to anyone, and Michigan was just one more excuse to
reach out to people.
He will be missed for his intellect along with his physical and
emotional touch. And he will be so greatly missed—because he is
my dad.
-Anna Feitelson, MD
Dr. Feitelson was a GLMS member for 51 years.
24 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE