Full Transcript
today is December 10th 2010 my name is dr. Markman Khan I'll be the interviewer our videographer is mr. Clint Reisner our interviewee is dr. Rob levy and we're at the Jewish Community Center we will conduct this interview in reference to dental experiences in the Dallas area Rob you don't mind me calling you out on it after all these years I'd like to just begin with a bit of your family history if you would give us a little bit of your family history as far as parents grandparents type of work that they were in sure sure Drive my grandparents dr. Harry levy his wife wrote a levy terminal grandparents and my grandfather was a physician and surgeon in Dallas he was the story goes he obstruct the emergency room at Baylor Hospital he was a dental surgeon and general practitioner for many years he integrated with his brothers from Houston and so that's really where the medical this is the health care system my family started close to him and he was a very busy man he died aged 72 and he was 72 my house calls was the plastic physician office building and my dad tells me that the first practitioners and down was Caucasian practitioners to black patients
and I was definitely brought up with similar values to be all-encompassing natori and health care was provided for everyone but as as a young boy teenager even your areas of interest hobbies things that you enjoy doing well out the water waterskiing was probably my favorite hobby I got into sailing a little bit which I still do now community service was always a big emphasis and my father you know and he also Bleus probably in community services member of lions club and several in sections and was active in the community he worked for volunteer work for blood bank helped establish for its lines I can't on
the grapevine called camp Burnett which was trying to privilege kids which is still part of the YMCA program and yourself has been primarily parents education why is growing up your schooling where you went to school and and the things you did maybe at a higher level in college and university you know I graduated from Park High School University Park considered very far out in those days and want me to be in the halfcourt school system so it was one of the very few Jewish kids and that's what system so I learned quite a bit of what it was like to be on the other side
of discrimination though it was kind of subtle it was there was there went on to the University of Texas at Austin at a BA degree majoring psychology minor in chemistry and zoology went to dental school University of Texas dental branch in Houston and and 25 years practice primarily with my dad and then 10 years ago I became a full-time teacher at Tarrant County College the hygiene program and we see many underprivileged people so wonderful give me a little background on your Jewish affiliation over the years starting father it was and have you taken some type of active role at that time not very active I
was part of the young adult Committee years ago and so I could not going to be on the board and decline to do that but got some other interests and we all give us a little background on your work experience beginning as a team what kind of job he had partner summer job so we're looking Cyclopedia Astorga door range thing was a busboy at Lucas B&B restaurant there still a sign there it's official Dallas landmark and my father thought was importantly to understand the value of my education appreciate an education and to appreciate to make a dollar lives other folks lab that did not have
love education that's a very traditional Jewish upbringing seven to be a doctor and lawyer or architect and so forth so I guess sounds pretty typical in man regard I know you talk about that a lot of course I can surely understand the kind of person that your dad was who influenced you helped me through of was your dad the main influence and your granddad up but going into very sure sure my father very much dentistry gives you a much freer lifestyle in terms been down with your family just what brought you into Dallas or your family's always dead over crackers just several generations from you
still have family down near Houston very distant relatives [Music] I don't know what are your observations practicing all these years Adventures from your beginning until now your observations of changes in the neighborhoods in dental IQ in dental care at home professional care I've seen so many so many things change in dentistry is probably Mystikal had graduated in 74 dental insurance or third-party participation wasn't what's a oxymoron yes and that slowly came in and I think that that has some little good things encourages people to through insurance with work etc to have better afford access to care and you know preventive visits we have huge increase
in knowledge of dentistry and medicine and where the quality of care is unlike any in the world I think in a positive sense yet there's so many folks that are disenfranchised that are not able to access the fine care we can deliver and as you know that's that's huge there's still a huge gap in a town balance with so much fluence property and it's not uncommon for me to say especially with my work with Hispanic families in East Dallas there may be there may be one toothbrush for six people in a household and that much information about nutrition I think I'm impressed with how the
working for families like it people that are - whether they're legal or not too proud to accept welfare and want to work yet simply don't have time to take their children for dental care or medical care and they're happy they're very appreciative of any who they have robbed do you have any other comments that you'd like to make before we close on you anything that you'd like to add for the future people to to hear to keep in mind I think that the Dallas community is always this town is wonderful of natural resources its resources to people changes in this town and there's still there's
still that spirit that I stay attached to and well I'd like to thank you and after hearing what you've had to say we're very lucky to have you and your your your giving and your volunteering all these years I know that that you'll continue with that and thank you for being with us this morning you
