As I start my journey in the shadows of our prior CALTCM presidents (giants in our field), l will be grounded in what they established, and get strength from their words of wisdom.
Dr. Wing Mar was our second president, and in an interview talking about when he first got into our field, he said “It became evident to me that I had to find the appropriate staff to care for these patients, who in many cases were demented or in delirium from their acute conditions.” Dr. Mar described himself as a “self-trained family geriatrician.”
Today, and now more than ever, we must still facilitate that our patients have appropriate staff to care for them. Similar to Dr. Wing Mar, it is also appropriate to refer to me as a self-trained geriatrician.
When Dan Osterweil was finishing his term as our president, he told us, “We can join our energy and wisdom with the desire to do good by our patients, and we can make a major impact and make California’s LTC system a better one.”
Once again, a physician leader of our organization did not just inspire us to provide good clinical care, but to do good. Doing good to me means leading the journey to a better system.
Our immediate past President Ashkan Javaheri, stated during his CALTCM Presidential address said: "Our commitment to improving patient outcomes, supporting professional development, and shaping public policy has made a lasting impact on countless lives. Looking ahead, we will continue to advance post-acute and long-term care medicine, championing policies that benefit our patients and facilities..."
As your new president, I commit to continuing our organization’s efforts to advance our field, and champion the policies that benefit our patients, our staff, and our facilities. I will not be doing that alone. I am looking forward to working with many of you in those efforts.
Another quote, from John W. Gardner, will be my mantra as your president. I hope you find it meaningful:
“Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle, or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account.”
My final quote comes from Rabbi Chaim Stern. He was an outspoken political activist and said something that was not intended for the work we do, but may reflect the feelings of many working in the care of underserved older adults:
“Creation is not something that happened only once. Creation is an ongoing process. There is still much to be done: disease to be conquered, injustice and poverty to overcome, hatred to be eliminated. There is truth to be discovered, beauty to be fashioned, freedom to be achieved, peace and righteousness to be established. There is great need to dedicate all the creative power which a creating God has given.”
He went on to say:
“We are weak, and the task seems hopeless, until we remember that we are not alone. We will endure, we will prevail, we shall see the soul restored to joy, the hand returned to strength, the will regain its force. We shall walk with hope.”
I am so blessed and honored to serve as the most recent president of such a respected organization as CALTCM. Perhaps as individuals, we may feel weak and hopeless (especially given the issues in our work environments). Together, our creative power is mighty. Together, we have strength, and we can walk in hope. Please join me in this journey.
Thank you.
Noah Marco, MD, CMD
President, CALTCM