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DrSamuelJSkipLaufer

Dr. Samuel J. (Skip) Laufer

Class: 1961Inducted: 2021

Dr Laufer entered Deal School in the 6th grade when his family moved from Newark to the Jersey Shore. He was always proud to have graduated from APHS. At Asbury he earned Varsity letters in football, swimming and baseball while also participating in many other school extracurricular activities. It was there that he learned that there were many talented people in this world and that it would take hard work to be successful.

He attended the University of Vermont, where he graduated with honors and served as Class President all 4 years. After graduating medical school with honors at the University of Tennessee, he served as a Captain in the USAF. As an Air Force medical officer, he founded a crisis intervention center for community teenagers and worked with servicemen returning from Vietnam with substance abuse issues.

He completed additional medical training at UCLA, Cornell, and University of Miami affiliated hospitals en route to earning certification as an Orthopedic Surgeon. He completed his training as a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Dr. Laufer returned to NJ as the first fellowship trained Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon in the state. He was the founding partner and medical director of Pediatric Orthopedic Associates for over 38 years, presently the largest academic Pediatric Orthopedic group in NJ. His group has cared for countless numbers of children with Orthopedic issues. His personal practice focused on the care of children with spinal deformities. During that time he served as the Chief of Pediatric Orthopedics at RWJ University Hospital and Medical School, which subsequently became Rutgers Medical School. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America.

He was a physician leader in the creation and design of the RWJ Bristol Myers Squibb Children's Hospital in New Brunswick. He has been involved in leadership committees,