Schwartz Receives Honorary Doctorate

Richard Schwartz, CEO, Apex Foot Health Industries, Teaneck, New Jersey, was honored by The New York College of Podiatric Medicine with the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City June 9. The college recognized Schwartz for his lifelong contributions to the clinical practice of pedorthics, medical education, and business leadership.

Schwartz thanked the college in front of about 600 attendees, including 100 family members, friends, and business colleagues. During his acceptance speech, the clearly moved Schwartz described the honor as a milestone in a long family history in the foot care industry. "For more than 90 years, the New York College of Podiatric Medicine has been setting the standards in education and medical practice. For about the same time, members of my family have been working side by side developing and delivering the highest standards in footwear, foot care, and education," he said. During Schwartz's 37-year career, he has spearheaded numerous materials and product innovations as well as the development of educational programs for orthopedic surgeons, podiatrists, and pedorthists.

He credits his family for his success, as well as years of hard work, an eye for innovation, and his determination to share knowledge about the field with anyone who will benefit from it. Schwartz's great uncle, Iggy Herskovitz, filled prescriptions for orthotics and other foot-related devices for orthopedic surgeons and podiatrists in the New York area in the early 1900s. Schwartz's father, Paul Schwartz, and uncle, Charles Schwartz, started Apex Foot Health Industries in 1946. "My father and uncle raised the bar in terms of quality standards, while also trying to feed their families," Schwartz said. "Every relative came to work at Apex. If there was a nephew, brother, or uncle who needed a job, they were always given one."

Schwartz joined the company in 1966 when he was 25 years old. He spent time in the manufacturing department and also saw patients and sold shoes in the company's store on 6th Avenue and 22nd street in New York City. Soon he began attending weekly foot and ankle clinics held by prominent New York orthopedic surgeon Melvin Jahss, MD. "It was there that I discovered how good our products were, and that we had the skills to treat almost every foot condition," he said.

Over the past three decades, Schwartz has made major contributions to the foot care industry. His product innovations include the development of Foamart Foot Impression Foam, a product that revolutionized the industry by creating a new way to take an accurate negative of the foot for the production of custom orthoses. Foamart was soon a widely used method of casting. Apex also debuted the first shoe line for people with diabetes. In 1971, Schwartz was approached by the Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in California with the idea of using his shoemaking experience to create a ready-made shoe using Plastazote®. He refined a technology that allowed Apex to construct a shoe upper with Plastazote that wouldn't tear apart. He then added three removable insoles and created a last that would accommodate diabetic feet. When the new shoe line was launched, the Veteran's Administration embraced it immediately for its at-risk population. Since that time, Apex has developed unique comfort and therapeutic footwear styles that incorporate the same technology, changing the way practitioners treat people with diabetes. "I took a business where everything was focused around expensive custom-made shoes and orthotics and tried to simplify the manufacturing system, so that we could produce product lines that were available quickly and affordably to a wider customer base," he said. "We respected what we learned from years of custom manufacturing, looked at the commonalities from one patient to another, and demystified the process of making high-quality foot care products."

The Schwartz family's contribution to the foot care industry continues. Schwartz's identical twin brother, Robert, owns Eneslow, the Foot Comfort Center, in Manhattan. Sons Larry and Evan Schwartz have both played key roles at Apex during the last decade.

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