By Carl Zebrowski
Editor 

Dr. Houman and Lori Ahdieh had a rough time right after they moved to the Lehigh Valley in 1995 for him to work. The area was very different from what they knew, and they had no personal ties here.

“It’s hard for a younger couple to move to an area that you have no real connection with initially,” said Houman, who began his tenure as president of the Jewish Federation’s Maimonides Society of healthcare professionals on July 1. 
Houman came from North Jersey, while Lori is a Long Island native. “The Jewish community was very visible and strong where she grew up,” Houman said. “She was used to having all sorts of Jewish life around her. 
“Coming to the Lehigh Valley was a shock to her. She wasn’t very happy.”

But then there was that place that serves as the hub of Jewish community life. “What turned things around was the JCC,” he said. “We met all our current friends through the JCC. It basically got us started in the community.”
From there he discovered Federation’s healthcare group. “I didn’t know about Maimonides,” he said, going on to describe how it filled a critical role in his life. “My colleagues became my friends.”

Over time Ahdieh learned how much good the society did. “I realized what wonderful work they do in the community,” he said, beginning with the wellness of its population. “Our healthcare professionals look out for the health of people here at the highest level.”

Supporting Israel is another key element of the society’s work that has always attracted him. “That’s very important to me,” he said. “I want to continue our support of Israel in general and its healthcare institutions in particular.”
He plans to focus some attention on the healthcare professionals exchange program that the Maimonides Society has organized over the years. “We’ve had some doctors come to the United States to do some work with us,” he said. “I’d like to continue that connection. I’d like to do some programs with doctors like we do with Yoav in the Partnership2Gether.” 

Ahdieh got to visit Israel with other society members in 2022, when they attended the dedication ceremony for an ambucycle (motorcycle-ambulance) the society donated to United Hatzalah all-volunteer emergency medical services in memory of Dr. Mickey Ufberg z”l, one of the Maimonides Society’s founders. “It was a wonderful experience going there and being part of the presentation and seeing what this organization does for the people of Israel,” he said.

More generally, Ahdieh sees the society on a well-laid path and wants to keep following it forward, making improvements along the way as opportunities turn up. “My goal,” he said, “is to continue on with the good work that immediate past president Zach Goldsmith and the other presidents have done to make the society the success it has been all along.”

That begins with focusing on everyone who’s already on the society’s roster. “I want to make sure the current membership is happy,” he said.

Expansion follows. “I want to make sure there is good communication with all the Jewish healthcare professionals in the Lehigh Valley, that we are approaching all of them, old and new, to make sure they are part of the society and encourage them to join if they haven’t. I’m going to work very hard to make the membership more attractive to all who aren’t presently part of the society.”

That means doctors, nurses, physician assistants, dentists, therapists, administrators, and others. “The more diversity we have in the professions,” he said, “the better it is for the society. I welcome a diverse group of healthcare providers. And the more the community at large knows about the Maimonides Society, the more we can attract members from different branches of health care.”

Regular Maimonides programming will continue throughout the year, particularly the Brunch and Learn programs on Sunday mornings, where members gather for a light breakfast and to hear one of their peers educate them on the latest developments and other timely topics in their fields of expertise. 

With medicine constantly changing, Ahdieh said, he wants to do his part to keep society members ahead of the curve. “I’m already being approached by community members who have some ideas they’d like to discuss,” he said.

If you’re a Jewish healthcare professional in the Lehigh Valley, consider joining the Maimonides Society to socialize and network with your peers, learn about the latest developments and trends in healthcare, and aid the Jewish Federation in its support of our local Jewish community, Israel, and Jews elsewhere in the world. Contact Aaron Gorodzinsky, Jewish Federation director of development, at [email protected] or 610-821-5500 with any questions.