Visionary Leader
In memory of Dr. Falcone (1960 -2019)
Dr. Philip M. Falcone’s exceptional ability, talent, and skill as a board-certified ophthalmologist during his 25-year tenure at Connecticut Retina Consultants leaves a profound and everlasting impact on his colleagues, patients, and the community, as well as the medical field.
His role as a highly respected mentor, innovator, teacher, and role model made him a hero to those around him. A renowned surgeon who treated retinal disease, Dr. Falcone dedicated his career to improving thousands of lives. In fact, he saved the vision of a great number of patients by sparing them from blindness.
Clearly, he was a trusted light force. Far exceeding his intellectual, academic, and professional fiber was his humility. He acknowledged every patient as an individual and gave him or her the opportunity to confide in him and express their concerns with an attentive ear. His greatest reward was to witness the grateful smiles on his patients’ faces, some of whom traveled across the country for their doctor visits, most of whom had a decades-long patient-doctor relationship.
Dr. Falcone traveled an unequivocal educational path. Passion drove him as a student with a depth and fervor that motivated him to do things well and strive for excellence, and he was successful on all counts. His academic career got a jump start at Fordham University, where he received his undergraduate degree. He proceeded to earn his medical degree from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. He not only graduated with honors but was named to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his ophthalmology residency training at the St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Medical Center of Columbia University and retina fellowship training at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Falcone’s contributions at the forefront of trial medicine research related to current therapies for macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy have advanced and continue to benefit the lives of others globally.
His legacy persists not only in his many extraordinary accomplishments but also in the lives of his students. He was a popular Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale University School of Medicine.
In addition, among his many tireless volunteer efforts, he spent countless hours working at the West Haven VA Medical Center.
Dr. Falcone’s passionate, selfless work, and many personal hobbies, along with his insurmountable devotion to his cherished wife and four children, have made him a living legend to all who are blessed to have known him.
