10/30/2025
💙 Celebrating 50 Remarkable Years: Dr. Pritzker’s Retirement from Lake Forest Pediatrics 💙
There are milestones… and then there are legacies.
On January 2, 2026, Lake Forest Pediatrics will mark one of the most profound moments in our nearly 60-year history — the retirement of Dr. Pritzker, a name that has become synonymous with excellence, compassion, wisdom, and heart.
For nearly half a century, Dr. Pritzker has been a pillar of this practice, a trusted voice in countless homes, and a steady, calming presence through every fever, milestone, and medical mystery.
He’ll tell you it’s been “49 ½ years,” but we’d argue it’s a full 50 — and then some — when you count the PTO days he never took. 😉
🌱 The Beginning of a Lifetime of Care
Dr. Pritzker’s journey began at the University of Illinois, where he studied biology before earning early admission to the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine — yes, you read that right, the medical school that bears his own name (though we promise it wasn’t named after him — even if it should have been).
After discovering his passion for pediatrics during his clerkships, he completed his residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. There, he trained in one of the nation’s most advanced neonatal intensive care units — an experience that shaped his lifelong commitment to both the science and the art of medicine.
🩵 The Lake Forest Pediatrics Chapter
In 1976, Dr. Pritzker returned to Chicago, joined Drs. Elmer Kadison, Ed Salter, and Arthur & Gerry Lasin — and the rest, as they say, is history.
In those early days, pediatricians made house calls, started their own IVs, and were on call multiple nights a week. There were no hospitalists, no neonatologists, and no electronic records — just skill, intuition, and heart.
Dr. Pritzker did it all.
Through every transformation — from paper charts to EMRs, from beepers to telehealth — he adapted, led, and inspired. He was the lead physician when Lake Forest Pediatrics made its first leap into electronic medical records, a pioneering effort that shaped how we operate today. He never stopped learning, evolving, and modeling excellence for those who followed.
👶 Generations of Families, One Extraordinary Doctor
It’s hard to quantify what five decades of care really means.
Tens of thousands of patients.
Countless middle-of-the-night calls.
Entire families who grew up under his watchful eye — and returned decades later with children of their own.
Ask any parent who’s known him: Dr. Pritzker had a way of making every visit feel personal.
He listened. He explained. He reassured.
He never rushed. And he never stopped caring.
His colleagues will tell you he’s not only brilliant and meticulous, but also kind, humble, and steady — the kind of physician who set the bar higher simply by being who he is.
🚴♂️ The Next Chapter
As he transitions into retirement, Dr. Pritzker looks forward to spending more time doing what fills his soul — cycling, drone photography, and most importantly, family. He also plans to explore new interests (and maybe even dust off the guitar from his high-school band days — though he swears he’s forgotten how to play).
And while the halls of Lake Forest Pediatrics will feel different without his gentle humor and steadfast presence, his influence will never fade. Every chart, every process, every family that walks through our doors carries a little bit of his legacy.
💬 A Legacy That Defines Us
Dr. Pritzker often describes his approach to patient care in two simple words: “Always evolving.”
That mindset has defined his journey — and, in many ways, it has defined us.
From all of us at Lake Forest Pediatrics, we extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Pritzker — for his unwavering commitment, his wisdom, his mentorship, and the countless lives he’s touched.
You’ve given this community something truly priceless: fifty years of healing, compassion, and love.
Congratulations, Dr. Pritzker — your Lake Forest Pediatrics Family celebrates you, honors you, and will forever be inspired by you. 💙
