Remembering Dr. Oshman

An Excerpt by Edgar L. Cortes, M.D., F.A.A.P.

The Children’s Clinic continues to grieve over the sudden death of our founder and mentor, Dr. Joseph Oshman. Dr. Oshman was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who made their home in Galveston, Texas. He worked in Oshman’s Sporting Goods in Houston for several years and learned a great deal about business and sales. At Rice University he completed his premedical curriculum and then was accepted to medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. After Medical school, he completed his internship in Washington, D.C. where he met and married his wife, Dolly.

The young couple then moved to Hawaii while Dr. Oshman served in the United States Navy for 2 years. After his honorable discharge, Dr. Oshman completed his pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins University and then began to look for a place to practice. Corpus Christi’s bay and palm trees reminded him of Hawaii and he therefore decided to stay and begin his pediatric practice in a small office in 6 Points with his wife serving as his nurse. Shortly thereafter, he opened an office at 1010 Ohio Street and joined practices with Dr. Benjamin Suchoff. In 1974, Dr. Oshman played an instrumental role in the construction of the Pediatric Center at its present location next to Driscoll Children’s Hospital; and under his leadership, the Children’s Clinic established offices in Portland, Five Points, Bay Area, and Saratoga. The number of doctors in the Children’s Clinic group has grown steadily from 3 doctors to its present complement of 16 doctors as well as 7 nurse practitioners, and 85 employees.

Dr. Joe, as he was affectionately and respectfully known, was deeply committed to the care of children regardless of their social or economic background. Thanks to his many achievements in the field of pediatrics and the creation of the infrastructure of pediatric physicians and services in the Coastal Bend, untold thousands of children have received life saving treatment and care. An example is the important role that Dr. Oshman played in the formation of Coastal Bend Emergency Services, the ER group that provides emergency services at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. Children’s Pediatrics of South Texas, the 501(a) corporation that represents the general pediatricians in contract negotiations with numerous health plans and insurance companies, was also formed and administered under his leadership. Dr. Oshman was a tough and effective negotiator with health plans and insurance companies. He had a very profound and practical understanding of what arrangements would work and which ones would not. He willingly served in many leadership roles including Chief of Staff at Driscoll Children’s Hospital and as a board member of the Humana and Driscoll Health Plans. His advice and counsel were actively sought on a wide spectrum of issues.

I feel truly blessed and fortunate to have worked with Dr. Joseph Oshman for the past 36 years. His candor, wit, sense of humor, and inimitable laugh made my work very special. He was a second father to all of us at the Children’s Clinic, and we all turned to him for advice whenever problems or personal crises arose. He always knew what to say and what to recommend. Needless to say, Dr. Joe was loved and respected by all of us at the Children’s Clinic and he will be sorely missed. While the absence of his physical presence has been difficult to bear, his spirit lives on in the Children’s Clinic. It is our hope and prayer that the Children’s Clinic will continue to fulfill its benevolent mission of helping children through the passage of childhood in keeping with his vision.