A few days ago, we told you about the passing of Long Beach’s own Dr. Robert Gumbiner, a healthcare pioneer and art collector who founded the Museum of Latin American Art and contributed to many other local museums.  Today, the LA Times’ Valerie J. Nelson digs deeper into the life of the forward-thinking man, with sometimes hilarious results.

For instance:

His 250-piece art collection had long outgrown his home, spilling over into an adjacent house that Gumbiner bought because his neighbor’s dog would not stop barking.

Ha!  I’d have three houses by now if I was trying to get away from the dogs in my neighborhood.  More relevant, though, were Gumbiner’s contributions to the medical field that eventually revolutionized the industry.  And his ideas started right here in Long Beach.  Writes Nelson:

In 1955, he and nine other physicians formed a private practice in Long Beach that began offering a prepaid medical plan. Although the plan was successful, the other doctors feared a loss of income and eventually voted to get rid of it, Gumbiner had said. The dispute led to the breakup of the partnership and to the founding of FHP.

“When he set up his first prepaid healthcare plan, the medical community really thought it was anti-American,” said Franklin, his former colleague.

“He was really changing the way the healthcare world worked at the time.”

The article is a very good read, from the reasons he considered modern healthcare “immoral” to the story behind his passion for Latin American Art.  And his legacy will continue to live on in Long Beach, as the museum he was working to build at the time of his passing is set to open later this year.  It will house another passion of his, Pacific Island and Micronesian Art.

By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor