He was just the 13th physician at the Vancouver Clinic and the only cardiologist in the city when Dr. Stan Freidberg moved to the area in 1966.
Now retired, Stan is heralded within the community as a medical pioneer in Clark County.
Today, the Vancouver Clinic has more than 750 employees and over 200 clinicians. Much of that growth can be attributed to Stan's leadership, which includes time served as board chair.
Described by his colleagues as someone who was always there for the underserved and uninsured, Stan routinely provided care to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. In his retirement, Stan has been a regular at the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington and more recently Project Access Clark County.
Dr. Jay Miller, who wrote to the Vancouver Business Journal in support of Stan's nomination, said Dr. Freidberg is affectionately known to his colleagues as "Superdoc" for his superb clinical skills. Miller said Stan never let his cardiology practice or his leadership at the clinic get in the way of exercising his positive influence in other aspects of the medical community.
Dr. Sally Williams, who inherited a number of Stan's patients, said Dr. Freidberg's nearly four-decade long medical practice in Vancouver now acts as a model for young physicians on how to properly serve the community. She wrote that Stan's patients were "never as happy with me as they were with Stan!"
Married for 46 years and parents to three grown children, Stan and his wife Colleen now spend much of their time in Port Townsend, Washington. But no matter his location, Stan continues his advocacy for the Free Clinic, the uninsured and the hospital he once helped lead.
