|
Dr.
Morris Chafetz
Class of 1995
Background:
Morris E. Chafetz, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA,
April 20, 1924, and attended public schools there. From the
age of five, he expressed a single desire to become a physician
and help relieve the suffering of people. After graduation
from Tufts Medical School in 1948, he interned at the U.S.
Marine Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. The following two years
were spent as a resident in psychiatry at the Rhode Island
State Hospital. Upon completion of his residency, he was appointed
a research fellow in neurophysiology at the Instituto Nacional
de Cardiologia in Mexico City.
Professional
Experience:
During his fellowship in neurophysiology at the Instituto
Nacional de Cardiologia in Mexico City, Dr. Chafetz came under
the mentorship of Norbert Weiner and Arturo Rosenblueth, the
creators of the new science of cybernetics. This association
prompted Dr. Chafetz to examine the psychological and social
implications of this new science. He returned to Boston in
1952 and served for 18 years on the staff at Massachusetts
General Hospital and on the faculty of Harvard Medical School.
In 1954 Dr. Chafetz became chief of the Alcohol Clinic at
the hospital (one of the first in the United States). While
at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Chafetz became
a close colleague of Dr. Robert Schwab, a pioneer in the new
technology of electroencephalography (EEG). Dr. Chafetz worked
with Schwab in EEGs, parkinsonism, myasthemia gravis and epilepsy,
helping to bridge the boundaries of psychiatry and neurology.
From 1979 to 1983, Dr. Chafetz designed an alcohol abuse prevention
program for the Republic of Ireland that was successful in
reducing accidents, injuries and fatalities.
Career
Highlights:
Dr. Chafetz spoke in countries throughout the world because
of his research and expertise concerning alcohol and related
activities. In 1970 he served as the founding director of
the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
During his five-year tenure at NIAAA, alcoholic people were
moved from the judicial system to the health system; antidiscrimination
laws against alcoholic people were passed; alcohol problems
of Native Americans and other populations were addressed;
research support in the area of alcohol abuse spawned worldwide
prevention and educational programs; the stigma of alcoholism
was lessened and people suffering from alcoholism frequently
sought help voluntarily. In 1976 Dr. Chafetz became president
of the Health Education Foundation, an organization that relates
health to lifestyle. Working with the private and public sectors,
he created the Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers
of Alcohol (referred to as TIPS) program. The TIPS program
has trained and certified more than 500,000 people. Many insurance
companies dealing with establishments that serve alcohol require
that all their insurees be TIPS trained. In 1982 Dr. Chafetz
was appointed to the Presidential Committee on Drunk Driving
(PCDD). As an outcome of the work of PCDD and its successor
organization, the National Commission Against Drunk Driving,
the number of drunk driving deaths declined.
|
