Guest Commentary: Hailing medical professionals on National Doctor’s Day

Doctors are the dedicated, specially gifted people among us who heal, fix and save lives. They’re the determined few who commit to years of intensive training, long hours and constantly keeping up with new developments in patient care.”

Terry Murphy is the president and CEO of Bayhealth.

Someone you know might be alive today because of a lifesaving procedure performed by an excellent surgeon. And maybe, someone close to you is healthy, thanks to the skill of a primary care physician.

Doctors are the dedicated, specially gifted people among us who heal, fix and save lives. They’re the determined few who commit to years of intensive training, long hours and constantly keeping up with new developments in patient care. As a teaching hospital, our doctors are also involved in teaching and research. The great work they do — specifically the care I’ve witnessed at Bayhealth — constantly inspires me. But the fact that our Bayhealth doctors are going above and beyond their everyday roles to help the community makes me admire them even more.

Today is National Doctors’ Day, and I want to take a moment to express my pride in the medical professionals I have the privilege to work in the midst of every day. Because, beyond the doctors’ offices, the patient bedsides and the operating rooms, our Bayhealth doctors continue to do good.

Through the Bayhealth Medical Staff Fund, financed solely by our medical professionals, our doctors are dedicated to serving those of most need in our community. And they’re doing it quietly.

Take a look at just some of the organizations their fund has helped so far, nearby and around the world:

• Food Bank of Delaware (which distributes millions of pounds of food each year to the community through on-site food pantries, mobile food pantries and a network of hunger-relief partners throughout the state).
• Dover YMCA and Sussex Family YMCA (which are committed to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility).
• Greater Milford Boys & Girls Club (which inspires and enables young people to reach their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens).
• Enrichment of Hope (which provides a place for students of Selbyville Middle School, Southern Delaware School of the Arts and Indian River High School to go after school to get assistance with homework, learn about new skills and crafts, play athletic games and receive a wholesome dinner before returning home).
• Free Bikes 4 Kidz (which brings communities together to sustainably furnish bikes for kids in need, providing a pathway to health, happiness and opportunity).
• Charities to help those in need in Haiti, Ethiopia and Ukraine.

In honor of Doctors’ Day, let’s think about how we, too, can be there for others who are going through a difficult time, or consider a way to support the mission of an organization doing good in our community. Whether it’s mowing the lawn for an elderly neighbor, giving of our time to tutor or mentor a child, donating food to a local food bank or contributing to a charity that needs extra support, any positive action we take can make a difference.

Thank you to the doctors of Bayhealth — and doctors everywhere — for all that you do and for the inspiration you give to us all.