Caroline, Nancy L.

Nancy Lee Caroline was born on June 27, 1944, in Newton, Massachusetts, and received her B.A. in linguistics from Radcliffe College (1966) and her M.D. from Case Western Reserve University (1971). Caroline wrote several books and articles, primarily in the field of emergency medical services; the first of these, Emergency Care in the Streets, was, for a decade, the only resource for paramedic care. She worked with Dr. Peter Safar at University Hospital, developing a nation-wide training program for emergency medical technicians, and also served as medical director of the Freedom House Enterprises Ambulance Service, which provided emergency medical care to the city of Pittsburgh, Penn. In 1977, Caroline moved to Israel, where she began work as the first medical director of Magen David Adom, Israel's Red Cross Society, and developed a training program which enabled emergency workers to respond to terrorist attacks within minutes. In 1982, she relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, to become Senior Medical Officer of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). While in Africa, she also worked with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to provide better nourishment and health care to children in over 600 orphanages, and developed a non-profit organization, Agro-Africa Limited, which set up small-scale agricultural projects to assist victims of Kenya's massive droughts. She returned to Israel in 1987, and in 1995, concerned about the limited care provided patients with advanced cancer, founded the Hospice of the Upper Galilee; this hospice cared for her when she herself became ill with cancer. In 2002, she married geneticist and molecular biologist Lazarus Astrachan, whom she had first met while in medical school. She died at home in Metulla, Israel, of multiple myeloma, on December 12, 2002.

From the description of Papers, 1905-2005 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122386633

Nancy Lee Caroline, daughter of Leo and Zelda Caroline, was born on June 27, 1944, in Newton, Massachusetts. From a young age, Caroline had a strong social conscience and a strong sense of her identity as a Jew; these two qualitites informed many of the professional and personal choices she made throughout her life. She began her medical career while still a teenager, as a photographer and lab worker at Massachusetts General Hospital, and received her B.A. in linguistics from Radcliffe College and her M.D. from Case Western Reserve University in 1966 and 1971, respectively. After carrying out residencies at University Hospitals and the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, Caroline began a fellowship in critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1974, the university received a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to create a curriculum for nation-wide emergency medical services; this project was overseen by Dr. Peter Safar, but much of the work was delegated to Caroline, who also served as advisor to President Gerald Ford on emergency medical services.

Safar also recruited Caroline as medical director of the Freedom House Enterprises Ambulance Service, which provided emergency medical care to the city of Pittsburgh. The ambulance service had been established in 1967, to provide an opportunity for underprivileged African Americans to train as paramedics; the organization had encountered police opposition and financial and administrative difficulties and was on the brink of collapse when Caroline became involved. Despite Caroline's successful rehabilitation of the service, funding was cut in 1975, when the city of Pittsburgh decided to launch its own ambulance service. In 1976, Caroline became deputy director of the emergency department of Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh.

In 1977, Caroline immigrated to Israel, where she began work as the first medical director of Magen David Adom, Israel's Red Cross Society. Caroline developed a training program which enabled emergency workers to respond to terrorist attacks within minutes, but she experienced some frustrations with Magen David Adom and left in 1981. She served as medical consultant to several hospitals before relocating, in 1982, to Nairobi, Kenya, to become Senior Medical Officer of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). At AMREF, she managed the Flying Doctors emergency service, conducted classes for health workers throughout Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and southern Sudan, and wrote a weekly health advice column, "Ask Dr. AMREF," for the The Standard, Kenya's main daily newspaper. During this time she also served as a medical consultant for the League of Red Cross Societies, writing a handbook on basic life support and running a Red Cross seminar on first aid for African nations. She also worked with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to provide better nourishment and health care to children in over 600 orphanages, and developed a non-profit organization, Agro-Africa Limited, which set up small-scale agricultural projects to provide assistance to victims of Kenya's massive droughts. In addition, Caroline served as director of medical programs for the American Joint Distribution Committee in Addis Ababa, overseeing medical projects in the Gondar Province.

Returning to Israel in 1987, she served as medical consultant for the Center for Educational Technology and for AMREF, developing training materials in emergency medicine and writing correspondence courses for rural health workers in Africa. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh's medical school, and, on a volunteer basis, as a doctor and medical advisor for Magen David Adom, the Department of Oncology at Chiam Sheba Medical Center, and Tel Hashomer Hospice. In 1995, concerned about the limited care provided patients with advanced cancer, she founded the Hospice of the Upper Galilee; this hospice cared for her when she herself became ill with cancer. In 2002, she married geneticist and molecular biologist Lazarus Astrachan, whom she had first met while in medical school. She died at home in Metulla, Israel, of multiple myeloma on December 12, 2002.

Caroline wrote numerous books and articles, primarily in the field of emergency medical services. In 1979, her book, Emergency Care in the Streets, became the first, and, for a decade, the only, resource for paramedic care; several editions of this book have been published. The following is a list of additional books written by Caroline.

From the guide to the Papers, 1905-2005, n.d., (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)