Dear Nemours Physician,
THANK YOU!
As our nation celebrates Doctor’s Day 2016, I am both honored and delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate each of you. Thank you for all that you do for the thousands of children and families who rely on you and Nemours for both hope and healing. It is more than fitting that this annual recognition celebrates the dedication and compassion of physicians in caring for their patients and alleviating human suffering. Fitting, because compassion and alleviating human suffering are the very foundation upon which our benefactor, Alfred I. duPont, envisioned what we know today as the Nemours Children’s Health System.
Doctor’s Day is also a time to recognize our physicians for their contributions to the body of medical knowledge and the creation of tools necessary to win the unending battle against disease that leads to better outcomes for patients. Yet, beyond the wonder of science, becoming a physician is indeed a special calling, a life of service requiring both art and science. Whether you are in primary care, a specialist, conducting research or a combination of these, on behalf of all of us at Nemours, we are grateful that you have chosen us as the vehicle for your service.
On Easter, I was forwarded an email from my son-in-law, sent to him from one of his friends. It read as follows:
“Dear Friends and Family,
Today we received the greatest gift in bringing Sally home cancer-free. After five long months at Nemours battling leukemia, she is in remission, back home, and our family is whole again…”
Nothing can more eloquently articulate why we become physicians, and especially pediatricians, than the thoughts expressed in those two sentences.
I recognize that as physicians, the pace and nature of the changes in healthcare, and at Nemours, can be disconcerting. Whether you’ve been practicing for just a few years or several decades, each of you has played a crucial role in helping Nemours, and our profession, meet these challenges head on. Over the years, Nemours physicians have adapted to meet the demands of the times and I am confident that together we will always do so with the single-minded goal of improving the lives of children.
I am deeply grateful to you for your dedication to helping achieve our mission and the progress toward our True North. As shared guardians of children’s hope and joy, what you do every day, for every child exemplifies the true meaning of – Your child. Our promise.
Happy Doctor’s Day,
Dave
