Alex Azar, MD

Dr. Alex Azar, a longtime ophthalmologist, founder of Azar Eye Institute, and former President of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, died Monday, April 6, at 80 years old.

Azar practiced ophthalmology on the Eastern Shore for over 40 years and taught medical students at Johns Hopkins for 20. He received the Allan D. Jensen Part-Time Faculty Teaching award in 2011, nominated for the award by medical students attending the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins.

Azar started practicing ophthalmology in Salisbury in 1976, the same year he introduced microscopic eye surgery to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, performing the first intraocular lens implant and the first trabeculectomy for glaucoma.

He earned his bachelor's and medical degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, and followed medical school with a brief stint in the U.S. Army as a general medical officer before completing a residency in preventive medicine at Ohio State University.

He worked with the development of gas permeable contact lenses which was the catalyst for his return to OSU to complete a residency in ophthalmology.

Azar also pursued work as an environmental researcher at DuPont where he published more than 30 scientific research papers, which included a treatment plan for people exposed to the toxic missile propellant used in the Titan missile system.

Azar was also Board Certified in Preventive Medicine and is listed in the guide to America's Top Ophthalmologists. He was the first health care professional appointed to the Maryland Health Care Access and Cost Commission by Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

He served as president of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society and was on the board of directors of The Center for a Healthy Maryland, the board of the local YMCA, the TLC board and the board of the Wicomico Humane Society and the board of Horizons at The Salisbury School. He was also active in the Greater Salisbury Committee and was a 32nd degree Mason.

Azar’s son, Alex Azar II, is currently the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017.

Azar is preceded in death by his wife, Wilma, and survived by his children, Alex Azar II and Stacy Azar Dunne, as well as multiple grandchildren.

From DelmarvaNow.com