Change is coming.
Change is here.
It’s Tuesday night, July 15, 2014 and I’m watching the MLB All Star game with watering eyes as Derek Jeter, Yankee shortstop who is retiring at age 40, in case you didn’t know, receives two standing ovations. Retiring at 40, that’s a young doctor’s age and the upside of a career for the rest of us.
I’ve been a baseball fan for more than 50 years, although I hardly know any current major league players. For the last 10 years my baseball passion has been fed by watching youth and high school baseball where my son and his teammates play the same game as Jeter does, but with a lot more emotion, frustration, joy and sometimes tears.
So, I’m thinking that after Derek Jeter leaves baseball this season, which major league player will I know or care about or follow all summer long and into the fall? It’s a very short list. Time will tell.
The next day I read that Tuesday, July 15 was the beginning of implementation of 2014 Senate Bill 7, the APN Collaborative Agreement legislation, which Dr. Tracy Ragland, among others, diligently worked on in Frankfort. I invite you to read Dr. Ragland’s essay on page 5 where she describes the process and outcome of the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians advocacy for extending primary care throughout Kentucky. We applaud her work on behalf of Kentucky physicians and all the people of Kentucky who need healthcare. The un-intended consequences of the compromise bill remain to be seen.
Dr. Damian “Pat” Alagia, III, knows something about change. He is the chief physician executive at KentuckyOne Health. He told us that every day is full of the challenges of merging three legacy organizations into one with over 15,000 associates, staff and individuals PLUS patients. See the Q & A with Dr. Alagia on page 14 and you’ll find out something you probably didn’t know about his family.
And MD-UPDATE is growing and changing too with the launch this fall of MD-UPDATE.COM. Learn how “Inbound Marketing” works for physicians from MD-UPDATE Digital Publisher, Megan Campbell Smith. Kentucky physicians can change how other doctors and patients find them on the internet. Be one of the first to get on board. Until next issue…
All the Best, Gil Dunn Jr.Publisher, MD-UPDATE
Send your letters to the editor to:
jnewton@md-update.com, jennewton01@gmail.com, or (502) 541-2666 mobileGil Dunn, Publisher: gdunn@md-update.com or (859) 309-0720 phone and fax