‘Lenox Hill’ on Netflix: Who Is Dr. John Boockvar?

This year it’s especially difficult to comprehend all of the sacrifices doctors and surgeons make in the name of saving lives. Yet one docuseries on Netflix is trying to do just that. Lenox Hill follows the daily lives of the medical professionals who have turned one healthcare center into something extraordinary.

Each subject in Lenox Hill is remarkable in his or her own way, filled with passion, empathy, and expertise. But there’s one doctor who truly made this transformation possible. Consider this your guide to who Dr. John Boockvar is on Lenox Hill, and why he’s such a big deal.

Who Is Dr. John Boockvar on Lenox Hill?

Dr. Boockvar is the Vice Chair of Neurosurgery for Lenox Hill Hospital. Simply put, he’s living proof of just how remarkable this hospital is.

To understand just how extraordinary his employment is, it’s important to note how ordinary Lenox Hill was supposed to be. Lenox Hill is a hospital in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and when it was first starting out it was fairly standard. Yet under the direction of Dr. David Langer, the Chair of Neurosurgery, it transformed into something great. Lenox Hill became known as one of the leading hospitals when it came to neurosurgery and its caring maternity ward. That’s impressive for what was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill hospital.

But it’s Dr. Langer who sums up Dr. Boockvar’s incredible employment best. “He left Cornell. Who the fuck leaves Cornell to come to Lenox Hill to start from zero?” Dr. Langer asks in the docuseries’ first episode.

In addition to being the Vice Chair of Neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Dr. Boockvar is also the Director of Brain Tumor and Pituitary/Neuroendocrine Center at Lenox Hill, an Investigator for the Laboratory of Brain Tumor Biology at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, and a professor of neurosurgery and otolaryngology as well as head and neck surgery. He’s also an honorary surgeon of the NYPD and New York State Troopers. Dr. Boockvar received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.D. from SUNY Brooklyn-Downstate Medical Center. He’s consistently named on lists such as New York Magazine’s Top Docs, New York Super Doctors, America’s Top Surgeons, and America’s Best Doctors.

So what brought this incredible doctor to this hidden gem of a hospital? According to Dr. Boockvar, part of it has to do with the thrill. “I don’t even dare to imagine what I’m going to encounter on any given day when I arrive at work. In neurosurgery, in research, there’s just so many anomalies,” Dr. Boockvar says in the docuseries.

Watch Lenox Hill on Netflix