Letter to the Editor: Paying tribute to one of the area’s ‘fundamental resources’

When we think of the awe-inspiring resources available locally, the powerful Mississippi River and fertile farmland come to mind right away. 

As we celebrate National Doctors’ Day on March 30, I am reminded of a quote from the late President John F. Kennedy: “The human mind is our fundamental resource.”  The creative and innovative minds of this area — including Mark Twain and his prose, Parker Gates and the radio, and William Lear and his jet — have left their marks. So, too, have some less famous yet equally as important people — doctors.

The first physician arrived in the Quincy area in 1824. During the past 199 years, thousands of physicians played a role in shaping the system that provides our healthcare. Today hundreds of doctors, practicing on both sides of the river, continue to forge the direction of that exceptional system. These well-educated, highly-skilled and deeply compassionate individuals provide vital family and emergency care, behavioral health, surgical services, and obstetrics and gynecology; as well as medical specialties from allergy to wound care; with cancer and cardiac services; infectious disease medicine, ophthalmology, orthopedics, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and urology, to name a few.

Some of these great minds providing our healthcare today are homegrown. Others have relocated here from cities around the country and the world. No matter from where they came or what organization they represent, the physicians serving the communities of the area share a common and noble purpose — to improve health and enhance the quality of life we all enjoy.

On this special day, let each of us recognize and express thanks to area physicians for being a “fundamental resource” in our lives.

Maureen A. Kahn
President/Chief Executive Officer
Blessing Health