Message from the President

What creates a lifelong memory? Often, it is something associated with powerful emotions. Those emotions could be very wonderful . . . or very tragic.

Denise’s memory is both.

Denise had a baby. Usually that event is eagerly anticipated and celebrated by family and friends. That was not the case for Denise. She was dropped off at the emergency room and told that she was on her own.

Usually, having a baby also brings a new life and new joy into a family. Sadly, Denise’s baby girl had severe congenital heart disease and lived only 10 days. You can imagine that those painful memories will never fade with time.

But Denise has another memory, and like the sad memories, it also will not fade:

“My nurse in the delivery room took special care of me and for that I am truly grateful. Please accept my heartfelt gratefulness for the blessed experience at your distinguished hospital. I will share my experience as often as I can with others.”

Each and every day you are part of a story like Denise’s. Some of you are part of many new stories. All together, the Lakeland team is part of literally thousands of new stories. As Denise writes in her letter, those memories can, and very often do, last a lifetime:

“My experience was one that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

What makes Denise’s letter unique is that it took 45 years to write it. Her experience occurred in 1973. The facility she gave birth in is now gone. It was Mercy Hospital in Benton Harbor. It merged with Memorial Hospital in St. Joseph to become the facility we now all know as the Lakeland Medical Center. Denise was just 15 when that story occurred. She is now 60 years old. She is a wife of 44 years and has 3 married children, each with two children of their own.

A story like Denise’s may not come along every day, it’s true. But every day we in health care encounter people who are lonely, afraid, and in pain. Every day we encounter friends and neighbors who are facing life-threating illnesses. What a privilege it is to be in a position to show understanding, respect, and love to those who need it most.

How will we be remembered by those patients in the days ahead? Will it be like Denise’s story? A letter of gratitude for a blessed experience? I know that is what each of us want. It’s a big part of what draws us to a career in health care.

I don’t know who you may encounter today or in the days ahead, but I hope that you will be a part of their story, a positive memory that will last the rest of their life.

If you would like to read more of Message from the President, click here