Melissa Freeman

Melissa M. Freeman (April 26, 1926 – December 9, 2024) was an American physician based at the Beth Israel Medical Center.

Early life and education Freeman was born in The Bronx, New York on April 26, 1926. Her grandfather was born a slave in the 1850s, and was a teenager when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Freeman grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She attended High School of Music & Art, where she most enjoyed physiology and social work. She graduated Howard University College of Medicine in 1955, where she attended night classes and worked several day jobs.

Career Freeman completed an internship at Kings County Hospital Center and a residency at Nassau University Medical Center. Working with Vincent Dole and Marie Nyswander, she developed the use of methadone to treat heroin addiction. She runs a methadone maintenance program in New York, and mentors young doctors.

Freeman inspired Valentin Bonilla Jr, Chief Physician Assistant at the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Opioid Treatment Program, to pursue a career in medication-assisted treatment.

Personal life and death Freeman was Catholic. She died in The Bronx on December 9, 2024, at the age of 98.