COM Outlook Winter 2019

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 15 degree in psychology at Temple University, which he received in 1953. Melnick’s attention, however, wasn’t totally focused on his burgeoning career. In 1945, he married the love of his life, Anita, who he met through the machina- tions of a close friend. “My best friend went to a fraternity picnic, and while he was there, he met this very attractive young lady,” he explained. “Dur- ing their conversation, she revealed she was moving to north Philadelphia—to the same street I lived on.” Taking advantage of this unintended case of kismet, his friend acquired Anita’s phone number and passed it on to Melnick, who called her a short time later. The result was a wonderful, 63- year marriage that endured until Anita’s death in 2009 and produced son, Sandy, a board-certified psychiatrist in Pennsylvania. Retirement Derailed By 1976, thoughts of retirement began creeping into Melnick’s mind. “One of the precipitating factors was that I was always driving back from the hospital at 2:00 a.m. My hospital was a 45-minute drive each way, and I did it every day, sometimes twice a day,” he explained. “One night, I said to myself, ‘Arnold, what are you doing? What more are you going to see after all these years of intensive practice? And what more satisfaction can you possibly obtain?’ I had a very fulfilling practice, which I loved, but I felt it was the right time to retire.” During the next few years, Melnick, who, by this point, had authored numerous books and more than 200 published articles, began writing for several medical magazines and serving in various editorial capacities for industry publications, such as the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians Newsletter , the Osteopathic Reporter , and the Journal of American Medical Writers Association . Then, one night in 1979, a visit from an old friend named Morton Terry, D.O., M.Sc., FACOI, changed the course of Melnick’s life effectively putting an end to his self-imposed retirement. “I first met Mort Terry in 1942 when we were in the same classes at Philadel- phia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and we soon became lifelong friends,” said Melnick, who coordi- nated Terry’s wedding ceremony to wife, Geral- dine, in 1948. “It was one of those friendships where we sometimes didn’t see each other for over a year, but when we met up again, we picked up in the middle of the sentence where we last left off. So, when he came to Philadelphia to visit me, I expected nothing more than an evening of friendly conversation.” Instead, Terry revealed his bold plans to establish an osteopathic medical college in North Miami Beach, Florida. “We talked about several things that evening, including his decision to be the college’s dean,” Mel- nick said. “When I told him I thought he should be Melnick Champions the D.O. Profession Melnick leveraged his reputation as one of Philadelphia’s most respected pediatricians to advance respect for the osteopathic profession. He worked alongside his M.D. colleagues and earned election to the board of directors of several area hospitals. He also served as president of the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, American Medical Writers Association, Eastern Association of Osteopathic Pediatricians, and Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association. In a predominantly M.D. world, Melnick registered numerous D.O. firsts, including • first D.O. faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania • first D.O. to serve as president of the Philadelphia Society for Adolescent Medicine • first D.O. to publish an article in Clinical Pediatrics • first D.O. to serve on the editorial board of Clinical Pediatrics • first D.O. member of the American Public Health Association “Dr. Melnick had a brilliant mind. His understanding of academia and the role of medical school faculty contributed to the direction we led the college.” — Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc., FACOFP dist., FCPP, KPCOM Dean Emeritus and Director of International Medicine