Martin Grubin, D.O.’59, M.D., combined his pharmacy degree and his D.O. degree from the Des Moines Still College of Osteopathy and Surgery – renamed the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in 1958 and now DMU – to establish a rewarding career. In fact, he continues to work – as associate medical director of Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, he was a pharmacist before enrolling at the college, and he worked at Katz Drug in Des Moines while he was a medical student.
“Graduates of pharmacy school knew how to study,” he says.
Dr. Grubin has returned to his medical alma mater for his 40- and 50-year reunions, and he plans to come back in May for his 60-year reunion. He describes his class as “fantastic” and encourages his classmates also to attend their reunion.
“We were like a well-run machine. Everyone helped everyone,” he says. “I loved living in Des Moines even though the winters were kind of crazy.”
He recalls going to movies with other married couples and dining at renowned Des Moines restaurant Johnny and Kay’s on Fleur Drive. After his externship at College Hospital, which was across the street from the downtown from the Still College campus, he landed an internship at Doctors Hospital in Los Angeles thanks to a classmate.
“My wife and I were at the KRNT Theater to see ‘Kiss Me, Kate,’ and at the intermission I talked with my classmate Harold Van Maren,” Dr. Grubin recalls. “He was going to an internship at Oakland [CA] Hospital. He’d also been accepted at Doctors Hospital but was going to turn them down, so I called the hospital and got in. It was a great hospital for family medicine.”
Dr. Grubin practiced for 30 years in his own practice, in which he delivered more than 600 babies, and then joined a health maintenance organization before taking on his current role. “It keeps me young,” he says.
Flash back to your younger days by attending your reunion! To see the schedule of events, find out who’s coming, register your attendance and more, visit the reunion website.
