Join Us in Celebrating our Doctors

Each year on March 30, National Doctors Day reminds us all of the commitment and dedication our physicians show every day.

The past two years have been challenging for us all. But our healthcare workers have faced especially challenging times during the coronavirus pandemic.

Unless you’ve walked a day in their shoes or worn scrubs, N-95s, surgical masks, gloves, googles and all the other personal protective equipment they have donned and doffed to keep themselves and their families safe during this pandemic, you don’t truly understand what it’s been like for them.

And while we celebrate all healthcare workers at Lee Health, I would like to call special attention to our doctors in honor of National Doctors Day.

National Doctors Day was first observed on March 30, 1933 in Georgia to commemorate the first use of anesthesia, which had been done nearly 90 years prior. In 1990, legislation was introduced in the House and Senate to establish a national doctor's day. Following overwhelming approval by the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, on October 30, 1990, President George Bush signed the measure.

And almost 90 years after that first observation day, the celebration of National Doctors Day has grown to be an official day of recognition, celebrated throughout the country. Current census data shows that there are an estimated one million practicing physicians across the United States.

At Lee Health, we have more than 2000 physicians on our medical staff who provide our community with high-quality, compassionate care. They are committed to helping others, and they save countless lives in our community every day.

I recently spoke with a pulmonologist and critical care specialist who has been on the frontlines of the pandemic from the beginning, treating hundreds of our COVID-19 patients at Lee Health. He told me what is was like to care for his first COVID-19 patient and the overwhelming personal responsibility he felt. He was scared. So many of our physicians were as they went room to room, wave after wave. But their commitment and dedication to caring for others powered them through it.

That is one of many stories of what it’s been like for our physicians and healthcare workers as a whole.

So, please join me in celebrating our doctors on National Doctors Day and every day. If you know a doctor or next time you see one, please thank them for all that they do.

They are heroes.