Outstanding Physician of the Year

Peter Karczmar, MD

For his dedication, leadership and professionalism, Peter Karczmar, MD, has been named the Charles C. J. Carpenter, MD, Outstanding Physician of the Year.

Peter Karczmar, MD, is a partner in Coastal Medical’s pulmonary and internal medicine group. He specializes in pulmonary and sleep medicine and is the director of the Coastal Medical Sleep Disorders Center. He was the president of The Miriam Hospital Medical Staff Association from 2010 to 2012 and serves on several of the hospital’s committees. He is also an assistant professor of medicine (clinical) at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and has received several teaching awards from the school, including the Beckwith Family Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Karczmar is the founder and board president of Taming Asthma, a non-profit clinic in Providence that provides free asthma education and treatment for uninsured residents. He has also been working on establishing a medical clinic in conjunction with the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, a nationally recognized organization focusing on eliminating gang-related violence. In recognition of his contributions to the community, Karczmar was awarded the 2011 CHEST Foundation Humanitarian Award by the American College of Chest Physicians. He has also been named a Community Hero by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

Karczmar earned his medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and completed his internal medicine residency and fellowships in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Brown Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital. He lives on the South Side of Providence with his wife Cathy, a veterinarian specializing in feline medicine, and three cats. He has a passion for wooden sailboats and spends his spare time sailing on Narragansett Bay.

Past recipients of the Charles C. J. Carpenter, MD, Outstanding Physician of the Year include Kwame Dapaah-Afriyie, MD; David A. Marcoux, MD; Gary Bubly, MD; Jamsheed B. Vakharia, MD; Fred Schiffman, MD; and James R. Myers, MD.

Congratulations to Peter Karczmar, MD, on being named the Charles C. J. Carpenter, MD, Outstanding Physician of the Year!