It is with great sadness that the Texas Medical Association announces that Louis Joel Goodman, PhD, passed away on Friday, July 31. He was 71.
Dr. Goodman had been executive vice president and CEO of TMA for 22 years, retiring in August 2019.
“Lou Goodman is one of the primary reasons that the Texas Medical Association is the premier state medical association in the United States,” TMA President Diana Fite, MD, said. “He was a brilliant and highly effective and innovative executive director, and he was well respected and appreciated by the TMA members who were fortunate to work directly with him.”
Under Dr. Goodman’s leadership, TMA enjoyed strong and consistent growth in membership, and expanded its services to meet Texas physicians’ changing needs in a dynamic marketplace, while retaining its hallmark position as a health care policy leader in Congress and the Texas Legislature.
“Lou was a natural leader. He used his New Jersey/New York roots in combination with his love for Texas and created a style of leadership all his own,” said Michael J. Darrouzet, who was named TMA CEO and executive vice president in June of 2019. “His passion for the physicians of Texas led the Texas Medical Association to new heights, and TMA grew to become the largest state medical association in the nation. He will be greatly missed.”
Dr. Goodman was born on Sept. 29, 1948, in Paterson, N.J., and received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in public affairs and medical economics from New York University.
After college, he took positions with the American Medical Association (AMA) and then with the former Michael Reese Medical Center in Chicago. He joined the TMA staff in 1987 as director of the Division of Medical Economics and became executive vice president and CEO 10 years later.
Dr. Goodman served as president of the American Association of Medical Society Executives and chair of the Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE). He was a board member and former president of The Physicians Foundation and was the treasurer of the Physician Advocacy Institute.
He also was an adjunct professor of public health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
He had been recognized for his outstanding leadership with AMA’s Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award and the TSAE Distinguished Executive Award.
The TMA headquarters building in downtown Austin was renamed in his honor last year.
“This is a great organization, and I can’t think of a better career than working with the healers, who save lives, who take care of people,” Dr. Goodman said at the time. “It’s truly an honor. I’m greatly humbled by this dedication.”
He also was an avid golfer, a second-degree black belt in karate, a former marathon runner, voracious reader, and outdoorsman.
He was preceded in death by his parents William and Lillian Goodman, and brother Alan Jay Goodman.
Lou is survived by his wife Joann Goodman, his sister Sheree Wiener, his children Melissa Goodman (Peter Crossland) and Wendy Goodman (Daniel Perry), and his 5-month-old granddaughter Liberty Fox Goodman Crossland.
A private graveside service was held Sunday, Aug. 2. Plans for additional observances will be announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Lou’s loving memory to:
• Glioblastoma Foundation;
• World Wildlife Fund; and
• Simon Wiesenthal Center.