Philip S. Cifarelli - Move To California

Move To California

In December 1970 Dr. Cifarelli moved his wife and four children to California where his medical career flourished. Through the 1970s and 1980s Dr. Cifarelli served as Chief of Medicine and Chief of Staff at several Orange County hospitals including Good Samaritan Hospital in Anaheim, California. At Good Samaritan in 1978 Dr. Cifarelli met and befriended Ferdinand Waldo Demara aka "the Great Imposter," who was serving as the hospital's chaplain. Recognizing that Demara did not appear to have any family or close relationships, Dr. Cifarelli began regularly inviting Demara to family gatherings at his home. As Chief of Staff, Dr. Cifarelli was also instrumental in helping secure for Demara a place to live in the hospital, where Demara later died. In the 1970s Dr. Cifarelli began teaching clinical medicine at U.C. Irvine Medical School and legal medical subjects at COMP. He ultimately attained the rank of full clinical professor at UCI Medical School and at COMP and held those positions until his death. In 1979 he was named in the First Edition of "The Best Doctors of America."