Dermatology lost a material leader; and I lost a friend and colleague of some fifty plus years when Lou Barich, MD passed away on January 7, 2019. When I first met him, Dr. Barich’s Hamilton practice was growing and his political activity with his county medical society and the OSMA section on dermatology were in full swing. I also saw him receive an appointment at the University of Cincinnati as a volunteer Emeriti.
In 1985, he took on the project of director of the phototherapy section of the ODA, and began a project that was to last the rest of his life – Photoprotection of Children and Adolescents. First, the educational packets for secondary schools in Ohio and later USA wide were produced by him at his expense. Next, the push began to legally protect the young from cosmetic UVA. He helped many states get such legislation, and finally in 2018 his home state of Ohio, joined the protective legislation bandwagon.
As ODA struggled to find funding for its educational programs, “The Endowment Program” was begun. Many of our ODA-ODF leaders have struggled with helping develop this financial foundation program. Lou contributed thousands of dollars of his own funds to build our current reserves as “an unidentified contributor”.
To the very end, Lou Barich labored to keep ODA-ODF financially sound and masterminded some of the best medical protective legislation on a nationwide basis.
Farewell friend. Thank you for a life of well lived service.
Charles L. Heaton, MD