Basta, Lofty L. 1933–

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Basta, Lofty L. 1933–

(L.L. Basta, Lofty Lewis Basta)

PERSONAL: Born April 10, 1933, in Cairo, Egypt; son of Labib (a high school superintendent) and Fayka El (a homemaker; maiden name, Komos) Basta; married Laila L. (an ophthalmologist), August 24, 1961; children: Victor, Steven, Mona. Education: Ain Shams University, M.B.Bch., 1955, Diploma in Internal Medicine, 1957; attended University of Pennsylvania, 1995. Politics: Republican. Religion: Christian Orthodox. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, music.

ADDRESSES: Home—6208 Marbella Blvd., Apollo Beach, FL 33572.

CAREER: Physician, educator, and writer. Ains Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, intern at university hospital, 1955–56, resident, 1956–58, instructor in clinical medicine, 1958–63, lecturer in cardiology, 1963–70, assistant professor, 1970–71; University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, senior fellow, 1971–72, research associate in cardiology, 1972–73, assistant professor of medicine, 1973–74; University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, professor of medicine and head of cardiovascular section, 1974–76; St. John Medical Center, Tulsa, OK, director of cardiology, 1976–83; Hillcrest Medical Center, Tulsa, OK, director of cardiology, 1976–92; Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, FL, chief of clinical cardiology, 1993–. Hammersmith Hospital, research fellow, 1960–61; Tulsa Heart Center, founder, 1976, consulting cardiologist, 1976–93. University of Oklahoma, Tulsa Medical Center, clinical professor, 1966–93; University of South Florida, professor, 1993–, director of Division of Cardiology, 1995–; visiting professor at various colleges and universities, including University of Tennessee; public speaker on the history of medicine and on Egyptian history and medicine; guest appearances on television.

Growing Healthy in Oklahoma Foundation, founder, 1986, chairperson of board, 1986–; Oklahoma Foundation for State Goals, member of professional council; member of Oklahoma governor's Steering Committee for Health Futures in Oklahoma and Oklahoma State Comprehensive Health Education Council; Tulsa Heart Center Research Foundation, chairperson of board of director; National Council of Christians and Jews, sustaining member; co-founder of Project GRACE.

MEMBER: American Heart Association (fellow; past member of editorial board), American College of Cardiology (fellow), American College of Physicians (fellow), American College of Chest Physicians (fellow), American College of Angiology (fellow), Royal College of Physicians (London; fellow), Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh; fellow), Egyptian Medical Association, Egyptian Society of Cardiology, Iowa Medical Society, Iowa Clinical Society, Oklahoma State Medical Association (chairperson, Council of Medical Education, 1989–), Oklahoma Cardiac Society, Johnson County Medical Society, Tulsa County Medical Society, Ain Shams Clinical and Scientific Society, Sigma Xi, Summit Club (past member of board of directors and board of governors).

AWARDS, HONORS: Honor Medallion from Pope Kirollos, See of St. Mark, 1969; Green Country Excellence Award, 1987, for "long-term impact to lung health"; Henry D. McIntosh Humanitarian Award, Florida chapter, American College of Cardiology, 1996; Lofty L. Basta scholarship was established in his honor by University of Tulsa.

WRITINGS:

Cardiovascular Disease: Essentials of Primary Care, Medical Examination Publishing (New Hyde Park, NY), 1983.

(With Carole Post) A Graceful Exit: Life and Death on Your Own Terms, Plenum (New York, NY), 1996.

(As L.L. Basta) Life and Death on Your Own Terms, Prometheus (Amherst, NY), 2001.

Contributor to medical books; contributor of more than one hundred articles to medical journals; section editor of medical ethics of the American Journal of Geriatric Cardiology.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Medical Planning for the Sunset of Life: A Workbook; research on cardiology and on medical ethics.

SIDELIGHTS: Lofty L. Basta is a cardiologist and founder of Project GRACE, a non-profit organization that promotes education for both medical professionals and the general public concerning advance care planning and end-of-life issues. He is also the author of books focusing on end-of-life care. He cowrote A Graceful Exit: Life and Death on Your Own Terms with Carole Post. Much of the book is based on Basta's many years of caring for patients with terminal illnesses. As Basta and Post explore end-of-life issues, they discuss medical issues such as how death is defined and how modern medical technology is able to keep people alive but may represent, in some instances, unwarranted treatment. The book also includes a look at the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Writing in the Library Journal, Karen McNally noted that the book "offers succinct, well-researched discussions."

In his 2001 Life and Death on Your Own Terms, Basta discusses such issues as using an "advance directive" as opposed to a living will to let family and caregivers know the type of treatment an individual wishes to receive in case they can no longer communicate. In the book, the author also discusses his own brush with death as he battles with prostate cancer. AORN Journal contributor Patricia Nerad commented that the book "does not read like a medical textbook with cold, hard facts." The reviewer added, "One can feel the author's passion and insight on every page." R.L. Jones, writing in Choice, called Life and Death on Your Own Terms "a very readable and insightful book."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

AORN Journal, October, 2002, Patricia Nerad, review of Life and Death on Your Own Terms, p. 706.

Choice, December, 1996, D.R. Shanklin, review of A Graceful Exit: Life and Death on Your Own Terms, p. 643; February, 2002, R.L. Jones, review of Life and Death on Your Terms, p. 1075.

JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), December 18, 1996, John T. Sinott, Julie A. Larkin, and Ron G. Shashy, review of A Graceful Exit, p. 1921.

Library Journal, April 15, 1996, Karen McNally, review of A Graceful Exit, pp. 114, 116.

Psychology Today, January-February, 2002, Paul Chance, review of Life and Death on Your Own Terms, p. 69.

SciTech Book News, December, 2001, review of Life and Death on Your Own Terms, p. 86.

Tampa Tribune, October 7, 2001, Alicia Kerstyn and John T. Sinnot, review of Life and Death on Your Own Terms.