While the health care system itself may be broken, there are times we need to remember those who are called to work in this broken system and perform their tasks admirably under difficult (or almost impossible) conditions.
We need to remember the medical teams at Massachusetts General, Bringham and Women’s Hospital, , Massachusetts General, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Health Center who were called to respond to the tragedy at the Boston Marathon last week. We need to remember their hours of tireless effort as they worked together to save lives, save limbs, and treat the injuries of over 200 Americans. They didn’t care about insurance coverage or the patient’s ability to pay for the care they were receiving. They could have cared less about Obamacare or the fees they would receive for their work- these heroes were focused on doing what they were trained to do, to help save lives.
As we move back into the never-ending debate about how to fix the health care system let’s also take some time to recognize and appreciate when things work well. The Boston health care community responded admirably and continues to care for those recovering from a senseless act of violence (including the one who created it). Their compassion, dedication, and commitment will continue to guide their actions and help the victims heal. The first priority is care for the patient. That is the essence of what our health care system should be all about.
