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Most of us who work in health care live each
day trying to make a difference. In this changing world and in the evolving
health care environment, it seems the only constant is change. In such
a world, how do we know we're making a difference?
Looking back over the Institute's work in 2001, I
am struck by how critically important it is that we continue to test
our health belief models. Our Oncology Research Program, in studying
post-surgical quality of life, found that women who underwent breast
reconstruction seemed less well-adapted to life after cancer surgery.
Study results contradicted prevailing ideas, including my own, about
reconstructive surgery. Without such studies, inaccurate concepts would
persist.
Training teams and building capacity to change the
way diabetes is managed across an organization such as ours was a big
task in 2001. With outstanding effort and dedicated resources, Staged
Diabetes Management was adopted as the standard of care in Park Nicollet
primary care departments. All evidence to date indicates that we truly
are making a difference in diabetes care for patients at home, nationally
and internationally.
Institute Board of Directors Chair Jean Harris, MD,
died in December after living with lung cancer for several years. She
continued her community service as Mayor of Eden Prairie and as our
board chair until the end. She made a difference in everything she did
during her exemplary life. A lifelong nonsmoker, she attributed her
cancer and her early death to the effects of second-hand smoke exposure
as a child at home and as an adult at work. Jean Harris's recorded testimonials
live on to make a difference in the battle to reduce tobacco's effect
on our populations.
As I leave the presidency of Park Nicollet Institute,
I want to thank all the staff and volunteers who have contributed to
the Institute's success over the years. We have grown from a small nonprofit
with a half-time secretary and a collection of volunteer physicians,
to a formidable, capable and influential organization. The Institute
is an integral and essential part of Park Nicollet Health Services,
and is a recognized change agent all over the world.
I will miss the associations I have had with so many
dedicated people, and I will continue to contribute any way I can.
The Institute's future will be challenging, and, I
predict, very rewarding.
A. Stuart Hanson, MD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Park Nicollet Institute
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