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As I sit with my wife this morning watching the funeral of Senator Edward Kennedy, I am reminded that there are no party lines when it comes to the passing of great Americans. My wife mentioned that the two other Kennedys are remembered because of their tragically heroic lives and their premature deaths whereas Ted Kennedy will be remembered for a life of diligent, often tedious attention to detail. He used the gift denied his brothers, length of years, well.
For those of you who doubt his legacy, just look at the list of legislations that were sponsored and championed by this great man. Kennedy may have been labeled as a liberal by some, but his legacy is a testament to his commitment and dedication to the disenchanted, the socially deprived and forgotten and the children of those that came through Ellis Island with the hope that America would indeed become a place of hope and provide opportunity to enjoy the freedoms that some dare to only hope for.
Ted Kennedy had a true passion for changing the lives of the citizens of this country and was perhaps the greatest giant in the proposed and passed laws related to Americans and healthcare. News commentator and former Congressman Joe Scarborough mentioned how he personally was obliged to leave the congress because of his son’s medical condition, and he received no support of letters of concern from his fellow members of the House. He said that a short time later he received a package from Senator Ted Kennedy which had a beautifully concerned letter offering his assistance, a list of physicians and hospitals, as well as his concern and commitment to help him during his transition. He also sent an autographed large portrait of his brother, the late Robert Kennedy, who was Scarborough’s idol and hero.
Senator Kennedy was an example of a person who had a dream, was willing to plan, study, prepare and then put his feet to the treadmill to see that dream realized. The title of this short commentary is “the Footprints of a Giant” and I ask us, as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, are we willing to stay the course and place action behind our beliefs and fill the footprints of this great man? It was a dream or a calling or a firm desire to change the lives of patients that brought us together into our respective professions and so often we become distracted by the mechanics of medicine that threaten to obstruct our efforts. Together, we have the opportunity to see our collective dreams fulfilled. This will require a great effort and a building of bridges between our professions as well as a commitment to look beyond our titles and instead to the recipients of the care that we can provide.
“My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in his death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man , who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it” Ted Kennedy’s eulogy for his brother, Robert Kennedy.
As a seed is placed into the ground it requires nurturing, proper sunlight and adequate water and “hope” to see a tree. The definition of faith is “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seem.” I have faith that we, as committed advanced practice clinicians, can march together in Kennedy’s footprints and continue his mission.
 Robert M. Blumm has received national recognition as a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). He is the past president of the Association of Plastic Surgery Physician Assistants, and was past-president of the American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants, past president of the American College of Clinicians and NYSSPA, as well as Chairman of the Surgical Congress of the AAPA. In addition, Bob received the John Kirklin MD Award for Professional Excellence from the American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants. Along with his associate, Dr. Acker, Bob was the first recipient of the AAPA PAragon Physician-PA Partnership Award. He has been a contributing author of three textbooks, written 150 plus articles and is a sought out conference speaker throughout the United States.
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| Joe (OKC) |
on 21 Sep 2009 at 10:27 pm |
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Police and fire services are local municipal departments, and as such are not needed to be included in a national debate nor added to a national debt.
Conversely, our military protection is spelled out in the constitution, but not medical insurance, and for good and distinct reason. What we personally think should not supercede the law of this great land. Too many johnny-come-lately 'rights' will ultimately only serve to undermine their very intended purpose, at an unsustainable cost in treasure and human suffering.
Responsible improvement is the answer...HR3200 and any of the current proposals on the table are not. They are giant leaps in the wrong direction for compassionate care of Americans. |
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| Mark (Boston) |
on 21 Sep 2009 at 3:28 pm |
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| It seems that you are too confining in your definition of "rights". I agree that what you describe, free press, assembly, etc are "rights". I also think that we have rights as citizens to expect to be kept safe in our homes and cities, protected from warring factions, clean air and water, etc. These are all things that we "get" from our government: police, fire, military. I view these as "rights", as did Sen. Kennedy. Health care should be added to this list. |
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| Joe (OKC) |
on 09 Sep 2009 at 9:14 am |
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| "A clip of a Ted Kennedy speech has been played on TV several times, in which he asserts that health care should be a right, not a privilege. Rights, such as the right to a free press, right to assemble, right to bear arms, etc., have to do with things that you DO, not things that you GET from the government! While there does need to be some steps taken to make health care more affordable and accessible, calling it a "right" seems to me to go too far." My paraphrase, and it bears keeping closely in mind that change for the sake of change itself almost never leads to improvement. We must as professionals commit to responsible reform, not merely legislation designed to satisfy a partisan political agenda. Clearly HR3200 is not the answer, and we must resist the cries to pass it or pass nothing at all. Responsible improvements will only come from intelligent decisions derived from factual information. |
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