UPDATED: 5 Towns Community Suffers Tragic Loss with the Passing of Dr. Steven Krauss – RL 76

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By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

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DUE TO THE SHORTENED SHIVA – IF ANYONE HAS STORIES TO SHARE, PLEASE FORWARD THEM TO THE AUTHOR TO BE FORWARDED TO THE FAMILY [email protected]

Dr. Steven Krauss,63, of blessed memory, was one of the genuine Tzaddikim of the Five Towns and a personal friend.  It was an honor and privilege to know such a man.  Dr. Krauss leaves a devastated community both in the Five Towns, among his thousands of pediatric dental patients, his shul, all of Hatzolah, and his beloved family of three married daughters and bli ayin Harah, 9 grandchildren.

An unofficial random survey of some thirty high school children in the Five Towns area showed that an astounding 67% of local Five Towns students had been treated by Dr. Krauss when they had a very difficult dental situation.

Dr. Krauss was known throughout the Jewish community in the entire tri-state area as perhaps the leading pediatric dentist in the nation.  Patients came from as far as Lakewood and Monsey. He was described as kind, compassionate, and possessed the most finely honed dental skills to ensure the most painless experience children could ever have at a dentist.

Tzivi (Lieber) Kopelowitz was his first dental hygienist, and worked for him for 16 years. She then took a 5 year break to take care of her mother-in-law.  She went back parttime subsequently but during the pandemic stopped.  She was planning to return again right after Sukkos.   Mrs. Kopelowitz was devastated at the loss.

While out of the country, she commented, “He was so quiet and unassuming. He was the most understated person you could ever meet. You would never know he was doing all of the chassadim.  If any child needed him, he would come to the office and would lead them to  believe  that he would anyway be at the office.  And he did so without lying.  “Oh I am going to be in the office.  He did so with the utmost humility.

Dr. Krauss also volunteered for Hatzalah as a paramedic and was known as RL 76.  He was the first to answer calls as well, and would check up on them later.  His knowledge of medicine was quite extensive.

Dr. Krauss zt”l gave away more tzedakah than anyone could imagine.  He not only gave free treatment to many of his patients who could not afford treatment– he paid his associate dentist too – out of his own pocket.  This is an unheard of level of chessed entirely.

Dr. Zev Tendler, a dentist in Flatbush and a former associate who worked with Dr. Krauss, explained that whenever there was a case of financial need, he would give the very best times available those right right after school equally.  He treated everyone the same – with the finest care possible.

“If we in the office staff had a fraction of the zchusim that we witnessed we would all be in gan eden immediately,” remarked Mrs. Kopelowitz.

Dr. Krauss displayed astounding anivus – humility.  One of the dentists that he regularly came in contact with remarked, “Steve taught me something much beyond regular dentistry.  He taught me how to treat a person, how to treat a family.  And in his unassuming manner, he never took a compliment – always saying, ‘No you had that mannerism much before you met me.’ ”

Dr. Krauss loved everyone, and, of course, had remarkable love for his family, three daughters and his grandchildren.  Indeed, he spent so much time with his grandchildren while they stayed in Queens that many thought he actually lived there.  He spoke of retiring parttime so that he could spend time with his grandchildren – even making plans to that effect over the years.

Dr. Krauss, or Reb Shmuel Eliezer, excelled in the midah of Ahavas Yisroel and served as a paragon of this midah to all who knew him – even beyond dentistry.  Every Purim he would go door to door to shutins who could not make it to hear the Megillah and would lein it for them.  Typically, in order to ensure that children not be in a state of pain he would often open up his office at late hours at night.  He would personally call patients and or their parents after a procedure to make sure that everything was going well.

He ensured that his office had the friendliest environment possible.  Each child was made to feel very comfortable, whether with a toy or by watching a show. He once told those whom he had instructed, If the patient is made to feel happy and comfortable – they are a different type of patient.

Parent after parent recalled how he extended his best effort to ensure that a patient not have to go through full anesthesia, or ever undergo surgery in a hospital environment. “Why not try another method if we can do it?” he would say.

And children of all ages had the warmest of experiences at his office.  Dr. Krauss ensured that all of his staff members loved children, and treated patients and their parents with the utmost respect.  His office was carefully designed to ensure the warmest of experiences.

He was also an extraordinary baal chessed, a baal tzedakah, and never refused a patient either.  At times he would sneak in an adult who could not find an appointment elsewhere.

Dr. Krauss had a Masters in Business Administration, but eschewed all the statistical efficiencies recommended by the financial analysts of dental practices.  “Rather, look at at the big picture. Treat your staff right.  Treat the people and the patients well.  And bracha will follow.”

Dr. Krauss was the founding director of the pediatric dentistry residency program at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. He was also a clinical professor at Einstein and an attending faculty member at Jacobi and Montefiore Hospitals, where he taught pediatric dentistry, dental anesthesiology, and care of patients with special needs to advanced dental residents; as well as providing patient care at the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at Einstein.

He had published numerous articles and textbook chapters, and had lectures at national dental meetings across the country.

Mrs. Kopelowitz continued, “Pretty much all of what I do as a dental hygienist is from what I watched him do. In both pediatrics and special needs. To think this holy individual is gone – is beyond my ability.  He treated young adults too who were special needs at Montefiore – he was the anesthesiologist monitoring dental students who were treating special needs children.”

Dr Krauss once remarked, “What I particularly love about my practice, the community is that I feel like I’m an integral part of the community. I’ve been here for 30 years. I volunteer as a paramedic in the community.

And my patients, I have patients now who bring their children for the first time and they look at me and they look at the pictures here. And they look at this picture and they say, “Wow, still there? I was here 20 years ago as a patient.” And it makes me feel like we’re all family.”

Dr. Krauss was not feeling well for a few days and called Hatzolah on Shabbos, but unfortunately, passed away on the way to the hospital.

Dr. Krauss graduated dental school at the University of Maryland in 1985 and completed a hospital general practice dentistry residency in 1986. He then completed a two-year pediatric dentistry residency followed by a yearlong fellowship in dental care of patients with special needs at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY.

He later attended graduate school and received the Master of Public Health (MPH) and MBA degrees from the University of Massachusetts and completed a residency in dental public health at Jacobi Medical Center in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health. He also received a certificate in bioethics and medical humanities from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Benjamin Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University.

Dr. Krauss was a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, a Diplomate of the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, a Fellow of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, and a New York State and New York City certified paramedic.

Dr. Krauss zt”l was a living embodiment of Kiddush Shaim Shamayim to hundreds of thousands of people.

Boruch Dayan haEmes. Yehei Zichro Boruch.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

Dr. Steven Krauss,63, of blessed memory, was one of the genuine Tzaddikim of the Five Towns and a personal friend.  Dr. Krauss leaves a devastated community both in the Five Towns, among his thousands of pediatric dental patients and his beloved family of three married daughters and many grandchildren.

Dr. Krauss was known throughout the Jewish community in the entire tri-state area as perhaps the leading pediatric dentist in the nation.  Patients came from as far as Lakewood and Monsey. He was described as kind, compassionate and had the most finely honed dental skills to ensure the most painless experience children could ever have at a dentist.

Dr. Krauss, or Reb Shmuel Eliezer, excelled in the midah of Ahavas Yisroel and served as a paragon of this midah to all who knew him.  Typically, in order to ensure that children not be in a state of pain he would often open up his office at late hours at night.  He would personally call patients and or their parents after a procedure to make sure that everything was going well.

Children of all ages had the warmest of experiences at his office.  Dr. Krauss ensured that all of his staff members loved children, and treated patients and their parents with the utmost respect.  His office was carefully designed to ensure the warmest of experiences.

He was also an extraordinary baal chessed, a baal tzedakah, and never refused a patient either.

Dr. Krauss also volunteered for Hatzalah as a paramedic and was known as RL 76.

Dr. Krauss was the founding director of the pediatric dentistry residency program at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. He was also a clinical professor at Einstein and an attending faculty member at Jacobi and Montefiore Hospitals, where he taught pediatric dentistry, dental anesthesiology, and care of patients with special needs to advanced dental residents; as well as providing patient care at the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at Einstein.

He had published numerous articles and textbook chapters, and had lectures at national dental meetings cross the country.

Dr Krauss once remarked, “What I particularly love about my practice, the community is that I feel like I’m an integral part of the community. I’ve been here for 30 years. I volunteer as a paramedic in the community.

And my patients, I have patients now who bring their children for the first time and they look at me and they look at the pictures here. And they look at this picture and they say, “Wow, still there? I was here 20 years ago as a patient.” And it makes me feel like we’re all family.”

Dr. Krauss was not feeling well for a few days and called Hatzolah on Shabbos, but unfortunately, passed away on the way to the hospital.

Dr. Krauss graduated dental school at the University of Maryland in 1985 and completed a hospital general practice dentistry residency in 1986. He then completed a two-year pediatric dentistry residency followed by a yearlong fellowship in dental care of patients with special needs at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY.

He later attended graduate school and received the Master of Public Health (MPH) and MBA degrees from the University of Massachusetts and completed a residency in dental public health at Jacobi Medical Center in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health. He also received a certificate in bioethics and medical humanities from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Benjamin Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University.

Dr. Krauss was a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, a Diplomate of the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, a Fellow of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, and a New York State and New York City certified paramedic.

Levata and shiva information to be announced.

Dr. Krauss zt”l was a living embodiment of Kiddush Shaim Shamayim to hundreds of thousands of people.

Boruch Dayan haEmes.

The author can be reached at [email protected]


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Liam K. Nuj
Liam K. Nuj
1 year ago

Boruch Dayan HaEmes
ברוך דיין האמת

A yid
A yid
1 year ago

This is a terrible tragedy. Another sudden senseless death

Sam
Sam
1 year ago

oy

Paul Near Philadelphia
Paul Near Philadelphia
1 year ago

So young!

LaChaim
LaChaim
1 year ago

Another <70 SADS R"L
RBSH"O Dai letzoroseinu!

Burich
Burich
1 year ago

Oy

Anon
Anon
1 year ago

BDE
Tragic
May Hashem comfort the family