Dying Was Easy

Recipe for a fun read:

1. Start with four college roommates who banded together to beat heroin addiction

2. Reunite them years later in an effort to save a school for special needs children

3. Add in a generous helping of adrenaline rush that only a busy emergency department can provide

4. Top with exciting harness racing action

5. Season well with humor and intrigue

Save room for dessert. A sequel, "Never Becomes Now," is in progress.

About the Author

Larry J Kachik, MD grew up in western Pennsylvania. He obtained his premedical education at Johns Hopkins University. He never graduated because he was accepted into medical school after his junior year. He received his MD degree from Jefferson Medical College. Although his main interest throughout medical school was emergency medicine, he elected to complete a residency in Family Medicine. Although there were emergency medicine residencies at the time, emergency medicine was not an ABMS approved specialty.

Upon completion of his residency, he began his career in emergency medicine. During his career he obtained and maintained board certification from both the American Board of Emergency Medicine and The American Academy of Family Physicians. His clinical work in the emergency department spanned twenty-five years and included fifteen years as the Chair of his department. In addition, Dr Kachik also was appointed as the medical director of an acute care hospital.

Upon completion of his clinical career Dr Kachik transitioned to working as a physician surveyor for The Joint Commission. He felt it was, and still is, the premier healthcare accrediting body in the world. While working for The Joint Commission he became a member of their Speaker's Bureau and wrote occasional items for various Joint Commission Resources publications. He was a surveyor in the hospital accreditation division. He surveyed acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, Department of Defense hospitals and hospitals run by the Bureau of Prisons. He also participated frequently in "for cause" surveys done to investigate serious hospital complaints.

Dr. Kachik became infatuated with harness racing while in college. Shortly after he began his clinical career, he embarked upon racehorse ownership. Over a span of greater than twenty years, he owned interests in more than fifty horses. He is still an avid race fan to this day.