Giving Back is How We Grow

Half a decade ago we stood on the precipice of a pandemic that would change the world as we knew it.  Where we once took the daily practices of medicine and healthcare for granted, we found ourselves faced with an ominous unknown.  What the future held was never guaranteed, but now we faced an illness that baffled even the experts. Our daily lives were interrupted with a new challenge to what we were to do to curb this outbreak.  Between the expedited search for a vaccination along with social distancing we pushed our society into doubt, isolation, and fear.  

The social conflicts and political differences took a back seat to the common enemy, which was indiscriminate and pathologically destructive to all of us regardless of race, sex or creed. We as a human race became united on a common ground to fight a threat to our existence and to those we love. Where lines once divided us, we found salvation in community and respected the profession which put physicians into harm’s way to support the suffering of those who could not care for themselves.  The community cared for us as they understood that we cared for them.

In the midst of this pandemic, where hope in healthcare was hanging by a thready pulse, the heartbeat of healing found a voice through music. The Detroit Medical Orchestra is a charitable organization with which I have been playing violin for over 5 years.  This organization was started by a medical student who found healing through music beneficial both for the orchestra members and the community. The Detroit Medical Orchestra provides free music to the community while allocating donations to charitable non-profit medical and musical programs built within the community.

Through the Medical Orchestra, a Grammy-nominated violinist, Joshua Bell, reached out to participants, eager to showcase the profound intersection of music and medicine. An artist acclaimed on the world stage, Bell lent his talents to the healing arts, fostering connection even in a time of social distancing. Together, we collaborated on a musical project that gained national attention, with features in Carnegie Hall Live, NBC Today, social media platforms, and numerous local news outlets.

Today the need for healing both the community and the healthcare provider remains so important to the state of our medical system. Healing begins on all levels and as osteopathic providers, the core of our beliefs is holistic care. Burnout is rampant due to the growing disconnect between the business of medicine and the well-being of its caretakers.  The values that were paramount during the pandemic—parks, personal connections, and nature—are now being displaced by social media, materialism, and digital distractions. We must remember that true healing is not found in the noise between virtual connections but in the grounding forces of nature and human compassion.

Over this past holiday season, it was a great pleasure to be involved in Operation Good Cheer, where more than 20,000 gifts were sorted by hundreds of volunteers donated by 109 social service agencies and 190 donor groups to provide for 6,730 children and youth involved in the foster care program.  These gifts were loaded on to volunteer planes piloted across the state. Charity and community service are not merely acts of kindness; they are essential to the holistic balance of medicine. Giving back is how we grow.

Note: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of ACOI.