Donor Stories—Scherr

"A Robust Health System Requires Community Support"

Lawrence and Peggy Scherr were married on June 13, 1954. Lawrence, who was born in New York City, earned an A.B. degree in 1950 and MD degree in 1957 both from Cornell University. Peggy also graduated from Cornell University in 1953, and served as the police and fire commissioner of Haworth, New Jersey, where they resided for three decades before relocating to Manhasset in 1994. They are the proud parents of 2 children and grandparents of 4 grandchildren.

Lawrence, after serving our county as a combat officer for three years in the Korean War, then matriculated at Cornell University Medical College and four years later served an Internal Medicine residency at Bellevue Hospital.  He was hired at North Shore University Hospital in 1967 as Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Associate Dean of Cornell University Medical College.  His specialty was Internal Medicine, which he describes as the key to and the base for all medicine. He became Chairman Emeritus of Medicine in 2001 and then served as Academic Dean Emeritus and Historian and was the Betsey Cushing Whitney Professor of Medicine at Cornell University and later at NYU School of Medicine. (Both Cornell University Medical College, which affiliation Lawrence brought to NSUH and NYU, are or have been affiliated with NSUH. These affiliations enabled academic appointments as well as access to colleagues and research.)

In 2008 this generous couple funded two charitable gift annuities with Northwell Health, choosing to establish separate gift annuities to maximize their payouts and charitable deductions. When I asked why they made their most recent gifts (they have been giving to Northwell Health loyally for over three decades), Lawrence responded, “because this is a very important and effective health system that serves the public well. When I first came to NSUH in 1967, the hospital was a small community hospital. But the intent that was successfully carried out was to make it one of the major hospitals in the State. Having such a robust health system requires public and community support.”

But 2008 was a unique year for the Scherrs, as notwithstanding the weak economy at years’ end, they increased their level of giving. Lawrence said he and Peggy were able to give more because they had an income stream.  Plus instead of donating cash, they funded their respective gift annuities with appreciated stock. “We chose to fund the gift annuities with stock that had a low basis that we purchased a long while ago.” A gift annuity can be funded with cash and/or appreciated securities. Using stock results in an added capital gains tax benefit in addition to avoiding having to deplete a bank account. Many donors also use the proceeds from a certificate of deposit that comes due, as the gift annuity rates have, at least for the past few years, been higher than rates paid on CDs.

In addition to giving monetarily, the Scherrs also give of their time. Peggy has served for a number of years as an NSUH volunteer in the surgical waiting room. Lawrence also serves his profession, having occupied various leadership roles as Chairman of the Board of Regents and then as President of the American College of Physicians (an honorary medical society with 100,000+ members).  He earned Fellow status in 1965 and was elected only with a minute percentage of members who earned Master status in 1988. He was also an officer of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Medical Specialties. He was Chairman of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education and of the New York State Board of Medicine. And Lawrence also strongly believes in annual flu shots. “Everyone should be vaccinated!”

The Scherrs’ giving extends beyond Northwell Health.  They support Cornell University, the Hastings Center for Ethics, the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, UJA, and multiple other organizations and museums. Lawrence was a co-founder of The Florence and Robert A. Rosen Family Wellness Center for Law Enforcement and Military Personnel and Their Families, which was named in honor of Admiral Robert Rosen.

Lawrence is currently writing a book about the history of the health system.  He eagerly awaits the partnership with Hofstra University to create the 128th medical school in the United States in 2001.  He still attends his many patients, for many he has been their physician for decades and many are now elderly.  And perhaps quite fitting at this stage of his career, in 2007 he received one of his two honorary degrees (the first was from Long Island University in 1995) from (guess where?) North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.