Dear Partner in Care,
At long last, football season has returned – and, hopefully, cooler temperatures will follow with all due haste.
Whether you are a fan of the game or not, there is no denying that football is more than just another sport here in South Louisiana. It is a part of our culture – indeed, part of our way of life.
If you don’t believe me, take a gander at people’s faces on a Monday morning after a Saints game. You will almost surely be able to tell if the boys in black and gold won their Sunday matchup based on the community’s collective mood.
I bring up the topic not because I am a football fan – although, as a proud Louisianian, I certainly am. Rather, it has to do with a recent analogy made by our own Dr. Mike Hill, the medical director of St. Tammany Quality Network.
Appearing on St. Tammany Health System’s newly launched “Northshore Healthbeat” podcast, he described primary care physicians as the quarterback of a patient’s healthcare team. Just like Drew Brees did, they distribute the ball with pinpoint accuracy to key specialists, who in turn function much like the skill players on a football team – the wide receivers, running backs and tight ends.
(OK, I can think of one exception there: As an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Roch Hontas is technically a specialist, but he will always be a quarterback to me.)
As is the case with football, when one’s healthcare team is on the same page and working together – running like a well-oiled machine – wins come a whole lot easier.
We are fortunate to have such a deep roster of talented primary care physicians as well as specialists here in the Northshore region. We are even more fortunate that so many understand and embrace the team approach.
Really, that concept – the team concept – is very much at the core of what St. Tammany Quality Network is all about.
Think you for being a key part of it, and thank you for your dedication to caring for our community.
Go, Saints. Go, Tigers. Go, Greenies. And go, team!
Gratefully,