Harvey Picker (December 8, 1915 – March 22, 2008) was an American businessman,

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He was the founder, along with his wife, Jean, of the Boston-based ''Picker Institute'', whose goal was to promote patient-centered healthcare. In 2000, they founded the

Picker Institute Europe The Picker Institute Europe was founded by Harvey Picker and his wife Jean in 2000. It is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing a patient-centred approach to healthcare. The American Picker Institute ceased operations in January 201 ...

. His wife, Mrs. Jean Sovatkin Picker (

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, 1942), who died in 1990, served as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations and was a journalist for

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

. They "funded the development of survey methods widely used in America and Europe to gauge patient satisfaction."

Picker X-Ray company

Picker's father, James, founded ''Picker X-ray'', which was acquired by General Electric Co. Ltd. of England in 1981. It produced air-dropped X-ray labs for the Army in World War II and the Korean War. The younger Harvey led the company into such pioneering fields as cobalt treatment for cancer and ultrasound and nuclear imaging diagnostics; he remained with the company from 1946-1968. At age 50, Picker sold the family business.

Academia

After earning his doctorate, Picker worked briefly in the diplomatic service. He taught political science at

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

. Between 1972-1983 he served as dean of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Picker Institute (Boston-based)

Dr. and Mrs. Picker believed that the American health care system was technologically and scientifically outstanding but overall was not sensitive to patients' concerns and their comfort. Thus, in 1986, they founded the Picker Institute — a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing a patient-centered approach to healthcare — and in 2000 founded the

. The Boston-based ''Picker Institute'' ceased operations in January 2013.

Picker Institute Europe

The England-based institute founded by the Pickers is named

; they've been critical of the

Friends and Family Test The Friends and Family Test was introduced into the English NHS in 2013. It was a single question survey which asked patients whether they would recommend the NHS service they have received to friends and family who need similar treatment or care. ...

. As did the Boston-based institute, the focus is on patient care.

Personal

Picker's ''New York Times'' obituary said that he is survived by two daughters and three grandchildren.

References

External links

Listing from Picker Institute's Website2006 Article
from

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

On-Line
2006 Article from Colgate University News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picker, Harvey 1915 births 2008 deaths American health care businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists