David Merkel: Difference between revisions
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'''Died:''' September 15, 2012 | '''Died:''' September 15, 2012 | ||
'''Married:''' Linda Mason, | '''Married:''' Linda Mason, [[Ann Merkel|Ann]] | ||
'''Children: '''Jill Merkel, Erica Thomason, Sara Merkel | '''Children: '''Jill Merkel, Erica Thomason, Sara Merkel | ||
'''Dr. David Merkel''' lived at [[153 | '''Dr. David Merkel''' lived at [[153 Park Avenue|153 Park Avenue]] and had his office at [[8 Church Street|8 Church Street]] in 1969. | ||
He was born and grew up in Saranac Lake, and graduated from [[ | He was born and grew up in Saranac Lake, and graduated from [[Saranac Lake High School]]. | ||
He received an M.D., C.M., from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1963, and completed an internship and surgical residency at the Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. He joined his father Dr. [[Carl | He received an M.D., C.M., from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1963, and completed an internship and surgical residency at the Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. He joined his father Dr. [[Carl Merkel|Carl Merkel]] and Dr. [[Alfred Decker|Alfred Decker]] at the [[Adirondack Surgical Group|Adirondack Surgical Group]] in 1969, where he practiced surgery until his retirement. | ||
----''Adirondack Daily Enterprise,'' September 24, 2014 | |||
'''Vets center dedicated to Dr. Merkel''' | |||
SARANAC LAKE – Dr. David Merkel is gone, but his passion for healing lives on in a new treatment center for veterans that now bears his name. | |||
[[St. Joseph's Addiction Treatment and Recovery Center|St. Joseph’s Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers]] dedicated the Col. C. David Merkel, MD Veterans’ Residence for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction during a well-attended ceremony under sunny skies Wednesday outside the facility. It’s located on a quiet, forested lot just off of [[Kiwassa Road]]. | |||
The ceremony culminated with Merkel’s widow [[Ann Merkel|Ann]] removing a red cloth to reveal a memorial plaque affixed to a large rock. The plaque reads, “Dedicated to Dave’s devotion to St. Joseph’s, commitment to veterans, and compassion for all seeking the hope and promise of recovery.” | |||
“This is a very important day to our whole family,” Ann Merkel said later. “It affirms and, in a way, completes my husband’s commitment to military care for veterans.” | |||
David Merkel, who died in 2012, was a surgeon who practiced in Saranac Lake for more than 40 years and helped found [[High Peaks Hospice]]. He also had a long and distinguished career as a physician with the U.S. Army Reserves. He served with the 310th Field Hospital and 376th Combat Support Hospital in Malone, retiring with the rank of colonel in 1997 after 32 years of military service. | |||
Merkel also served as the medical director of St. Joseph’s and was instrumental in launching the veterans’ residence roughly six years ago. | |||
“He was an important part of this community for many decades,” St. Joseph’s CEO Bob Ross said. “The idea that his name will be forever attached to this facility, and all the people and families it will help, is just perfectly fitting for all the contributions he made in all his works of goodness to this community.” | |||
“I think if Dave was physically here today, he would be embarrassed,” said Dr. Robert Kasulke, a longtime friend of Merkel who practiced medicine with him in Saranac Lake and served with him in the Army Reserves. “He wasn’t the type of person who wanted to have honorifics placed on him in public, but he does deserve this. This is a lifetime of his work standing behind me here, and it will carry on Dave’s interest in serving veterans.” | |||
The 25-bed, 10,000-square-foot veterans’ residence officially opened on July 7. Program Director Zachary Randolph said the facility now has eight residents and expects to have 15 to 18 by November. He said the veterans the residence serves have come from VA hospitals and other programs. | |||
“The majority of them are self-referral at this point, looking for something specific to PTSD and substance use, but that also has the veteran focus to it,” Randolph said. “We’ve had residents come from the Albany area, Syracuse, Binghamton – all around the state. We’ve even had people call in for referrals, wanting to receive services, from places outside the state: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia.” | |||
Randolph said most of the facility’s current residents are veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Vietnam. Many of its staff are also veterans, including Randolph, who served with the Army Reserves and National Guard. | |||
“The need for this kind of facility, the assistance we need to provide, literally grows day by day,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, a Plattsburgh Democrat and Air Force veteran. | |||
Referencing his “reluctant” vote last week to provide support to combat the militant terrorist group ISIS, Owens said, “I did not see a better option; however, when I come here, I see that at least we are providing the help that so many of our service men and women will need.” | |||
State Assemblywoman Janet Duprey said the veterans’ residence continues Saranac Lake’s tradition of healing that began when Dr. [[E.L. Trudeau]] made the village a center for tuberculosis treatment and research. She said Dr. Merkel continued that tradition “with his reputation as a doctor that didn’t just treat patients, but cared for patients. | |||
“And how fitting that this wonderful building is named in his honor,” Duprey said. | |||
The $3 million veterans’ residence is one of a trio of similar facilities funded by the state. The others are located in Sanborn and Ellenville. The state money was provided through the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. | |||
“The Merkel residence is breaking new ground in treating PTSD and addiction simultaneously, while being aware of the triggers and vulnerabilities of military trauma survivors,” said Sean Byrne, OASAS executive deputy director. “This comprehensive approach will put our veterans on the pathway to recovery, help them to get gainful employment and help them live fulfilling family and community lives.” | |||
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===Comments=== | ===Comments=== | ||
Latest revision as of 17:03, 3 August 2026
Born: March 7, 1937
Died: September 15, 2012
Married: Linda Mason, Ann
Children: Jill Merkel, Erica Thomason, Sara Merkel
Dr. David Merkel lived at 153 Park Avenue and had his office at 8 Church Street in 1969.
He was born and grew up in Saranac Lake, and graduated from Saranac Lake High School.
He received an M.D., C.M., from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1963, and completed an internship and surgical residency at the Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. He joined his father Dr. Carl Merkel and Dr. Alfred Decker at the Adirondack Surgical Group in 1969, where he practiced surgery until his retirement.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, September 24, 2014
Vets center dedicated to Dr. Merkel
SARANAC LAKE – Dr. David Merkel is gone, but his passion for healing lives on in a new treatment center for veterans that now bears his name.
St. Joseph’s Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers dedicated the Col. C. David Merkel, MD Veterans’ Residence for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction during a well-attended ceremony under sunny skies Wednesday outside the facility. It’s located on a quiet, forested lot just off of Kiwassa Road.
The ceremony culminated with Merkel’s widow Ann removing a red cloth to reveal a memorial plaque affixed to a large rock. The plaque reads, “Dedicated to Dave’s devotion to St. Joseph’s, commitment to veterans, and compassion for all seeking the hope and promise of recovery.”
“This is a very important day to our whole family,” Ann Merkel said later. “It affirms and, in a way, completes my husband’s commitment to military care for veterans.”
David Merkel, who died in 2012, was a surgeon who practiced in Saranac Lake for more than 40 years and helped found High Peaks Hospice. He also had a long and distinguished career as a physician with the U.S. Army Reserves. He served with the 310th Field Hospital and 376th Combat Support Hospital in Malone, retiring with the rank of colonel in 1997 after 32 years of military service.
Merkel also served as the medical director of St. Joseph’s and was instrumental in launching the veterans’ residence roughly six years ago.
“He was an important part of this community for many decades,” St. Joseph’s CEO Bob Ross said. “The idea that his name will be forever attached to this facility, and all the people and families it will help, is just perfectly fitting for all the contributions he made in all his works of goodness to this community.”
“I think if Dave was physically here today, he would be embarrassed,” said Dr. Robert Kasulke, a longtime friend of Merkel who practiced medicine with him in Saranac Lake and served with him in the Army Reserves. “He wasn’t the type of person who wanted to have honorifics placed on him in public, but he does deserve this. This is a lifetime of his work standing behind me here, and it will carry on Dave’s interest in serving veterans.”
The 25-bed, 10,000-square-foot veterans’ residence officially opened on July 7. Program Director Zachary Randolph said the facility now has eight residents and expects to have 15 to 18 by November. He said the veterans the residence serves have come from VA hospitals and other programs.
“The majority of them are self-referral at this point, looking for something specific to PTSD and substance use, but that also has the veteran focus to it,” Randolph said. “We’ve had residents come from the Albany area, Syracuse, Binghamton – all around the state. We’ve even had people call in for referrals, wanting to receive services, from places outside the state: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia.”
Randolph said most of the facility’s current residents are veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Vietnam. Many of its staff are also veterans, including Randolph, who served with the Army Reserves and National Guard.
“The need for this kind of facility, the assistance we need to provide, literally grows day by day,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, a Plattsburgh Democrat and Air Force veteran.
Referencing his “reluctant” vote last week to provide support to combat the militant terrorist group ISIS, Owens said, “I did not see a better option; however, when I come here, I see that at least we are providing the help that so many of our service men and women will need.”
State Assemblywoman Janet Duprey said the veterans’ residence continues Saranac Lake’s tradition of healing that began when Dr. E.L. Trudeau made the village a center for tuberculosis treatment and research. She said Dr. Merkel continued that tradition “with his reputation as a doctor that didn’t just treat patients, but cared for patients.
“And how fitting that this wonderful building is named in his honor,” Duprey said.
The $3 million veterans’ residence is one of a trio of similar facilities funded by the state. The others are located in Sanborn and Ellenville. The state money was provided through the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
“The Merkel residence is breaking new ground in treating PTSD and addiction simultaneously, while being aware of the triggers and vulnerabilities of military trauma survivors,” said Sean Byrne, OASAS executive deputy director. “This comprehensive approach will put our veterans on the pathway to recovery, help them to get gainful employment and help them live fulfilling family and community lives.”