DPD's Doctor

Dr. Barnet was the Department for Persons with Disabilities agency doctor for nearly 40 years. Throughout this time he helped hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

"Dr. Barnet had a kind of magic about him," said Scott Milliken, Catholic Charities CEO. "He made his patients, even those who were uncommunicative, understand that everything was going to be OK."  

The vast majority of DPD’s clients received treatment at one time or another from Barnet, for everything from stomach ills to psychiatric issues.  

"The individuals we care for collectively have over 155 different diagnoses, which can be trying, and over the years there has been a transition in thought to how to care for people with disabilities," Milliken said. “He saved the lives of so many of our people." 

 Milliken recalled one patient, new to the DPD, who was terribly afraid of doctors and needles but needed a shot. "The patient was in Dr. Barnet's office for two hours, and Dr. Barnet's thinking was, 'When he's ready, we'll give him the shot.' Milliken said. "He took the individual's comfort level into account, was able to slowly approach the patient to administer the medicine — and got the job done. From that day on, the patient was OK with Dr. Barnet."  

In 2006, the agency dedicated its ninth group home, on Lenox Avenue in Pompton Lakes, as Barnet House. "The patients are nice people … they're very appreciative and feel comfortable with me," Dr. Barnet said after receiving the honor.  

Lawrence "Larry" Francis Barnet was born in Port Huron, Mich., where his father owned three pharmacies. Larry and his siblings worked in the drugstores, which stoked his desire to go into medicine, said a daughter, Elizabeth Barnet. One of his brothers became a cardiologist. Barnet graduated from the University of Notre Dame and attended medical school at Loyola University in Chicago. He moved east to work for the United States Public Health Service Hospital on Staten Island. He joined a group practice in Paterson in 1967 and opened a solo practice in 1977, around the time he was approached by the Department for Persons with Disabilities. 

 In 2002, Barnet received the Paterson Diocese's inaugural Dean McNulty Award for outstanding efforts in "imitating Jesus, healer of the sick, counselor of the infirm and lover of the poor." Dr. Barnet will always be remembered for his service, kindness and dedication to our organization and all of those in need. He will forever be “DPD’s Doctor.”