Fakharzadeh Family Makes Memorial Gift in Support of Campaign

Since arriving at Valley in 1987, Frederick (Fred) Fakharzadeh, M.D. has had a front-row seat to the hospital’s growth and transformation. “When I started, the operating rooms were on the 2nd floor of the Phillips building, before moving to their current location,” he explains. Another big change came in 2002 with the opening of the Luckow Pavilion, Valley’s same-day surgery center. “As a hand surgeon, it’s where I’ve done the majority of my cases for over 20 years. It’s another tremendous facility that has been great for both patients and doctors,” he says. It’s from the dictation suite at Luckow that he has watched The Valley Hospital in Paramus, just across Winters Avenue, come to life.

During a recent tour of the new hospital site, the longtime Valley physician couldn’t help but think of the future. “You can see how the facility is built for flexibility and how we are going to be able to optimize patient care – it’s just amazing,” he says with a smile.
“To have had the opportunity to go ‘behind the scenes’ and get a full picture of the
planning process and see how it’s all getting made, I’m just incredibly grateful.”

Raised in Teaneck and a resident of Oradell, he has served patients in the community for 36 years. For Dr. Fakharzadeh, Valley is also where his own loved ones have received care, including his father, Mehdi. “My dad was in the life insurance industry with MetLife for 60 years and didn’t retire until he was 91,” he says. His father touched so many lives that Dr. Fakharzadeh describes more than one occasion when, noticing the name on his badge, someone in an elevator at the hospital would ask if he was related to Mehdi Fakharzadeh.

“He loved what he did. Loved going to work every day and loved his clients. He really was so committed,” he says proudly. In his father’s later years, visits to Valley became more frequent. “It’s never easy, but I knew he was receiving care from my colleagues, who treated him as family. It’s what makes Valley so special.”

Mehdi Fakharzadeh passed away in 2019; in his honor, the Fakharzadeh family has chosen to make a Leadership gift to the campaign for the new hospital and name the outdoor terrace in his memory. “My father always had an affinity and high regard for the medical field, and he was also always one to dream big. Combine that with the wonderful experience he had at Valley and our desire to be part of the campaign, and it all jelled for us to make this gift.” The terrace, Dr. Fakharzadeh explains, was a perfect choice. “Not only did my father love gardening, but he would have loved that this will be an area of the hospital that can be enjoyed by everyone.”

When reflecting on his father’s legacy, he comes back to the idea of family. “My parents instilled in us that if you are in a position to help, at any level, it’s something you should do,” he says. “To think about what this new hospital means for the community and for our Valley family, my family is grateful to be a part of it.”