Claudia BALDUCCI Obituary

BALDUCCI M.D., Claudia Beghè died peacefully surrounded by her family on October 18 2023 at her home in Tampa. Claudia worked in the Florida Veterans Hospitals from 1987 until her retirement in 2017. From 2010 to 2017, she served as Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics at the Haley VA hospital in Tampa. She also served as the Section Chief of Geriatrics at the USF College of Medicine. She was certified by the American Boards of Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. She was a fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the American Geriatrics Society. Claudia was born in Rome, Italy on June 12, 1946 and graduated from the Catholic School of Medicine of Rome in 1971. That year she married Lodovico Balducci. In 1972 the couple crossed the Atlantic and lived for one year in Canada. They then moved to Mississippi where they lived until relocating to the Tampa Bay Area in 1987. Claudia was known as an astute and compassionate physician, as well as a tenacious patient advocate. She was the first physician in Mississippi to treat AIDS patients, at a time when the disease was incurable and the source of much fear and discrimination. In geriatrics, she was a strong advocate for patient autonomy, including for those cognitively impaired. Claudia's integrity and compassion left its impact on numerous colleagues, students, and patients. Since 1992, Claudia and Lodovico have been members of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Tampa. She is survived by her husband, Lodovico; their son Marco; his wife, Carol; and their children, Luca and Elena. A resurrection Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, November 11, at 2 pm at St. Paul Catholic Church, 12708 North Dale Mabry Hwy., in Tampa.