Our Founder
Bernard H. Palay, M.D.Fellow, American Academy of Allergy and Immunology Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians. Laureate Medical Group has deep roots in the Atlanta community, beginning with the opening of an office by Dr. Bernard H. Palay in 1962. Ten years later, Dr. Palay asked Dr. Milton Frank III to join him, and soon the practice was flourishing. Since then, the practice has grown to include 16 physicians with four locations in the metro Atlanta area.
A graduate of Emory University and Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Palay completed his residencies at Emory, the Veterans Administration Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital. In addition, he completed post-graduate work at Harvard University in allergy and clinical immunology and was board certified in both internal medicine and allergy. In addition to many teaching appointments held during his career, Dr. Palay served as president of the medical staff of Crawford W. Long Hospital, as well as chairman of its Internal Medicine Section and the Medical Records Committee.
Dr. Palay also served as chairman of the Environmental Health Committee for the Medical Association of Atlanta, Medical Advisor for the Citizens for Clean Air and was a delegate from Georgia to The White House Conference on Aging in 1981. Named three times to Atlanta Magazine's list of "Top Doctors in Atlanta", Dr. Palay served as Chairman of the Medical Subspecialty Committee and the Allergy Division of the Polyclinic during the 1996 Olympics and was a team physician for the Atlanta Hawks for 17 years. Dr. Palay was renowned for donating countless hours serving on a number of local and state environmental health committees and served on the Georgia T.B. & Respiratory Diseases Association State Board of Directors.
His work with senior citizens included serving as a member of the Board of Counselors of the Gerontology Center at Georgia State University and the Senior Citizens Advocacy Committee of the Medical Association of Georgia (MAA). He also chaired the Committee for the Aging for the MAA from 1989-90.In addition to being a member of the MAA, Dr. Palay was a member of the American Thoracic Society, the Georgia Allergy Society, the Atlanta Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Internal Medicine and is a Founding Fellow of the American Geriatric Society.Throughout his career, Dr. Palay provided medical services to the residents of the William Breman Jewish Home, a 120-bed nursing facility for elderly residents who require 24-hour care and supervision, and served as Medical Director for 17 years. He also served as Chairman of the Medical and Dental Staff for 11 years.Dr. Palay retired in January, 2001, after nearly 40 years of practicing internal medicine in Atlanta.
During a reception in his honor, the medical suite at the Jewish Home was dedicated to him by his Laureate Medical Group colleagues Milton "Butch" Frank III, M.D., Morris E. Brown, M.D., Alan J. Gottlieb, M.D., Adam J. Leaderman, M.D., Scott J. Shulman, M.D., Scott B. Kleber, M.D., Valerie A. Wender, M.D., Mark G. Friedman, M.D., and Arnold B. Mellits, M.D. During the dedication ceremony, Dr. Milton Frank said, "I can think of no better way to honor Bernie Palay than naming the medical suite at the Jewish Home after him. His commitment to the health of his patients, to the community at large, and the Jewish community in particular, is inspiring."