News

February 2012
Homicide, Arson Investigations Underway in Apparent Deaths of HSAG Chairman and Wife

(Phoenix, Ariz. – Feb. 1, 2012) Paradise Valley Police said today they are conducting a homicide and arson investigation into the apparent deaths of Dr. Lawrence J. Shapiro, and his wife, Glenna, at their home two days ago.

Police are still awaiting positive identification by medical examiners. Family members and circumstantial evidence, however, have left no significant doubt about the victims' identity.

Dr. Shapiro was a leader in health care in Arizona for over 45 years, maintaining a gastroenterology practice, serving in a number of medical leadership roles and co-founding Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG)—a Phoenix-based company that has grown under his leadership to become one of the country's leading health care quality improvement organizations.

"Dr. Shapiro was admired by all at HSAG," said Mary Ellen Dalton, the company's CEO. "He showed compassion, concern and respect for every person's life he touched. He was our role model and the 'father' of HSAG. He so dearly loved his wife, Glenna, and held her in the highest regard. We relished the times when we could be together with the both of them."

Dr. Shapiro, 79, was Chairman and owner of the company, which was started 33 years ago to assure the quality of care for Arizona's Medicare beneficiaries. HSAG now works in several states and serves more than 20 percent of the Medicare population nationwide. The company also works with Medicaid programs in more than a dozen states to improve the quality of care for some 45 percent of the nation's Medicaid consumers. He also served as President and Chairman of HSAG's parent company, Health Services Holdings, Inc.

Dr. Shapiro served at various times as President of the Maricopa Foundation for Medical Care, as a member of the Arizona Medical Association's Board of Directors, the Board of Directors of Arizona Blue Shield, and the Executive Committee of St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. He has received two distinguished service medals from the Maricopa County Medical Society.

In 2004, the Arizona Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP) presented its Laureate Award to Dr. Shapiro, citing his efforts to enhance the quality of medical care in Arizona. Dr. Shapiro has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Health Quality Association (AHQA), a national organization working to improve health care quality and patient safety.

He and his wife, Glenna, actively supported many civic organizations and charities, including the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, Arizona State University, the Phoenix Art Museum, and the Arizona Kidney Foundation, which Glenna served many years as its executive director. In 2010, the Shapiros founded a charitable organization, the Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro Family Foundation.

They have three children: Susan, of Los Angeles, and twin sons, David and Steven, of Salt Lake City.

Dr. Shapiro is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He received post-graduate training at the University of Illinois, University of Colorado and UCLA.

Funeral services are pending.

Please visit the Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro Web site to share your memories.