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Letter from the President "The river has no shape, but it takes on the boundaries which it carves out for itself."
Samurai wisdom holds that just as the river takes on the shape it carves, "so is the mind boundless until it creates a prison for its own thoughts." The vision of the Institute is to shape the future of health and health care. That expansive view requires research, education and innovation that empowers patients and communities, and puts them in the center of the disease management process. I've come to learn most from rivers by being in them. Having taken Hygiea's plunge in the Ganges, Zambezi, Nile, Amazon and, of course, our own mighty Mississippi, I relate to rivers for the constant rebirth they represent, as well as the journey they offer with an ever-changing beginning and end. Those very changes also are why our work flows from an evidence base, and why we are focusing on research and development in patient-centered chronic disease management in 2004. Only by immersion with patients in understanding the behavioral currents and societal forces shaping the river, can we be of service to those who want to look ahead to a life uncomplicated by chronic illness. In 2003, the boundless minds of Institute staff were as expressive as they were pensive. With 164 active studies, our researchers sought answers to questions from the usefulness of post-operative blood glucose as it relates to coronary artery bypass grafting, to queries about patients' interest in viewing their medical records. We had much to share with the thousands of doctors and other health care providers who attended our continuing medical education offerings. Our classes in smoking cessation, heart and diabetes care and nutrition helped shore up the riverbanks. Our efforts to teach kids that "being healthy rocks" and to reform health care financing deftly redefine a river that too many have come to consider inestimable. Herman Hesse wrote, "The river has taught me to listen; you will learn from it, too." With compassionate health care providers understandably fixated on the problems downstream, the Institute, with our commitment to innovating in disease management, aspires to join with patients, families and communities in shaping a different river. A river with a depth that affords room for all, where Hygiea embraces those upstream, where all have secure passage. Now let's see, I still have the Yangtze to visit. Hope to see you there.
Paul E. Terry, PhD |
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