In Memoriam: Clara Laboy

It is with great sadness that PAEA announces the passing of Clara Laboy, PA educator, researcher, and long-time healthcare provider.

Clara graduated from the CCNY Sophie Davis PA Program (now the CUNY School of Medicine PA Program) in 1983. She had an extensive clinical career in HIV-AIDS care, substance abuse, and geriatric psychiatry. This experience culminated in her role as Program Director at the Housing Works Mental Health Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS Primary Health Care and Day Treatment Program in New York.

Clara became a PA educator in 2002. She taught at the St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in New York (now St. John’s University PA Program), Pacific University in Portland Oregon and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Worcester, Massachusetts. She left teaching in 2015 when her illness prevented her from working.

Professor Emeritus of the Marist PA Program, Theresa V. Horvath, said, “Clara leaves behind her beloved wife of 30 years, Pamela Laboy, many devoted students and patients, as well as friends in the United States and in Paris where she lived for a time. She was my dear friend, and I will miss her terribly.”