I have been a practicing physical therapist for three decades helping people rehabilitate their lives after traumatic accidents and illnesses. Several years ago, however, I was blindsided by the traumatic and sudden loss of my best friend of 30 years, who was also a Navy veteran and colleague in healthcare. The shock and devastation jolted our lives, as she passed within two weeks of her cancer diagnosis. I found myself dealing with profound sadness and loss that was accompanied by daily angst and unrest. These years gone by have offered me time to reflect on my personal life, healthcare career, and the things I value most.

Today, I want share with you the news of my own transition and transformation – the emergence of a vision and mission to serve in healthcare through a different capacity, to create a blueprint for systemic change. Through life-changing professional experiences as a physical therapist and my personal journey to come to terms with and navigate this significant loss, I recognize the extensive sacrifices to sustain and thrive in a healthcare environment that has many inherent challenges. The circumstances around my best friend’s illness and hospitalization opened my eyes and heart to witness the depersonalization and desensitization of our healthcare workers in their field of expertise. At a critical and unanticipated juncture in their patient’s life, the healthcare system fell short. As I remained at my friend’s bedside during her final days of hospitalization, I became her advocate and voice as she was on life support and could not speak. This experience widened my perspective and alerted me to issues often taken for granted until they become personal.

As healthcare providers, we can also be on the receiving end of patient care. The complexities and challenges in healthcare are real and costly, and they directly affect us every day. At any point in time, any healthcare practitioner or front-line service provider can become a patient. It is not until we are approaching crisis or in crisis that we are forcibly compelled to pause (or stop) in our tracks. We can prevent the crisis and do better BEFORE, much better.

Going forward, I have made a commitment to raise awareness of the true value of effective self-care practices through the cultivation of inspired service leadership. The model of the Inspired Medical Warrior® embodies the characteristics and qualities most desired in a competent and caring healthcare professional and leader. I offer my support to healthcare practitioners, health organizations, first responders, and law enforcement to help explore individual and cultural values that enhance how we live our lives, serve each other, our patients, our organizations, and communities at large.