In Loving Memory: Barbara Huisman, BSc (PT) ’87 Reflects on Life and Career of Dr. Steven Goldhar, MD ’86

Barbara Huisman, BSc(PT)’87 is Case Manager and owner of Optimal Outcomes, coordinating care for complex-case patients such as spinal cord or brain injuries. Her late husband, Steven Goldhar, MD’86 spent his career as a Family Physician at a walk-in clinic in downtown Toronto, treating each patient as if they were his only patient. Steven passed away suddenly in April 2017.

When Dr. Steven Goldhar passed away suddenly in April 2017, his widow and fellow UofTMed alumna Barbara Huisman set up a memorial fund in his honour. She spoke with MedAlumni’s Julie Lafford about her late husband and their dedication to the Faculty of Medicine.

I’m so sorry for your loss. Tell me about your husband.

We met at a U of T student party and were married for 26 years. I had moved back to Toronto from Vancouver and then entered the Physical Therapy program. Steven was extremely bright and got into medical school after his second year of university, which made him one of the youngest students in the program. He deliberated about the different specialities and eventually decided on family medicine. He worked in semi-urgent walk-in practice for 30 years and was one of the forerunners in that specialty. He was loved by his patients and acted in the role of their family doctor because they kept coming back to him time and again. There were patients who would wait in the walk-in clinic as long as they needed to because they would only see him.

He was the smartest man I’ve ever met, not just in medicine but in everything he did. He was like a sponge — we would go on holidays and he would be able to recite different facts about the places we’d go that he’d never been to. He knew all of the answers in Jeopardy.

He was an amazing husband who worked long hours. When we met, neither of us had anything and we built our life for our family ourselves. He always saw the glass as half full and was calm, wise and optimistic. He was the most gentle, kind and funny man you can ever meet.

What are some of your favourite memories of him?

My favorite memory of Steven was him sitting on the beach with a glass of 7Up and reading trivia books. I also remember singing in the car as a family, wherever we would go. He knew all of the lyrics to every song and would teach them to us.

He was a devoted family man and a great inspiration to our children. Both of our children followed in Steven’s footsteps; our daughter Laura is a neuroscience major and has been accepted to Master’s degree Physician Assistant program in New York State starting in January 2018. Our son Sean is in third year medical school at the University of Ottawa. They can’t imagine ever having a better father than him. He helped them with math and had long conversations about theories of physics, or whatever they were studying. He was able to explain things very simply so it made sense to anyone.

What inspired you to give to U of T Medicine in his memory?

We set up a memorial fund in his honor because of the attributes that he embodied: kindness, caring compassion. Every single person that met Steven felt that about him. This fund will support students who demonstrate these values.

So many prizes are based on financial need or academic achievement, but all medical students have financial need and all of them are bright. The qualities Steven brought to medicine are rare and, I believe they need to be emphasized and valued. Aspiring doctors need to know that it’s their caring and compassion that patients will value. So when the children and I thought about what we would want to fund, we decided to highlight these qualities.

We wanted to help educate young physicians in his model of care. He was a U of T grad and trained brilliantly, and he valued his career in medicine almost as much as he valued me and the children. He was incredibly honored to be a physician and to be able to deliver care.