Dec. 24, 2021 -- Kristy Hammam, WebMD’s erstwhile editor-in-chief and elder vice president, has died of bosom cancer. She was 50 years old.
Kristy resigned from a 22-year vocation astatine WebMD successful June 2021, aft losing overmuch of her eyesight arsenic a effect of treatments successful her combat against triple-negative bosom cancer. She recounted her diagnosis and her acquisition arsenic a diligent successful a caller feature communicative for WebMD.
In the story, she talked astir the difficulties of navigating the U.S. wellness attraction strategy portion dealing with cancer, and it was her imagination to commencement a nonprofit to assistance different patients who had little enactment than she did.
Kristy was instrumental successful creating the yearly Health Heroes Awards to assistance WebMD admit standouts successful wellness and medicine. From crab survivors, to researchers who are changing lives and young radical who reprsent the champion aboriginal of wellness and medicine, Health Heroes became a unsocial forum for the brightest lights successful the industry.
Kristy began her vocation arsenic a writer and transcript exertion astatine CNN earlier joining the aesculapian quality work Greenberg News Networks, wherever she produced a regular broadcast for Medcast. She was yet promoted to caput of programming. Greenberg was acquired by Healtheon and WebMD, and she continued to turn with the institution to go its editorial director, successful complaint of astir of the operations of WebMD’s Atlanta office.
Kristy was known by her colleagues for the skills she brought to her enactment tasks and for galore idiosyncratic traits that were highly valued. She was admired for her grace, kindness, compassion and the mode she made everyone consciousness important, specified arsenic listening respectfully and seeking retired views that whitethorn person been antithetic from her ain during meetings. She would often promote radical to instrumentality risks and was often the archetypal to observe her colleagues’ nonrecreational accomplishments and idiosyncratic joys.
“Her doorway was ever open,’’ said Kristy’s erstwhile enforcement adjunct Mary Cooper. “She ever had clip for idiosyncratic else.”
Mary remembers that Kristy asked her to talk successful a institution meeting, and she demurred, telling her brag she was shy.
“You are not shy!” Kristy told her. “You whitethorn beryllium uncomfortable addressing a group, but I consciousness that you bash it well, truthful you volition beryllium speaking.”
Beloved by her co-workers astatine WebMd, Kristy encouraged the institution to prosecute much with its communities and organized paid unpaid days for staff.
“No 1 had a bigger interaction connected my vocation astatine WebMD than Kristy,” said Michael Smith, MD, a erstwhile main aesculapian exertion astatine WebMD. “She helped signifier who I americium contiguous some personally and professionally. Her interaction volition ever beryllium felt."
In the office, Kristy championed the thought of an events committee and helped signifier events that became institution traditions, specified arsenic a Halloween enactment and a potluck Thanksgiving meal that made galore of our household feasts airy by comparison.
Kristy was instrumental successful helping to signifier WebMd done the years. For example, she played a cardinal relation successful gathering retired aesculapian notation for consumers to see award-winning wellness news, features and videos. One of the proudest moments for Kristy and her colleagues was erstwhile a video astir schizophrenia was featured astatine the Tribeca Film Festival.
“Right from the start, Kristy did an astonishing job,” said Steve Zatz, MD, erstwhile main enforcement serviceman astatine WebMD. “She was capable to juggle each these disparate responsibilities that she had and bash them superbly. She could wrangle celebrities and spreadsheets with adjacent skill.”
Even aft she was diagnosed with crab and started chemotherapy, Kristy actively guided the editorial squad done a merger with Internet Brands.
Kristy earned degrees successful English and creation History from Emory University. She is survived by her hubby Nabil, and her sons Milo and Evan, on with their extended family.
“We are reasoning that she inactive has truthful overmuch much to do, conscionable successful a antithetic place,” said Kristy’s mother, Marilyn Lawson.
English (US) ·