Page 10 - Delaware Medical Journal - November/December 2020

PRESIDENT’S PAGE
worked hand and hand with the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Administration to provide early and critical information on loan programs and funding options that were essential to sustain medical practices. However, this is not a long-term solution. Our practices need to stay viable to provide care to patients, whether in person or via telemedicine.
Of major concern throughout our health care system is our ability to address those patients who delayed their necessary medical care. As was well stated by our Executive Director, “Chronic diseases, behavioral health, and addiction do not
and will not take a holiday.” We need to do more to improve access to care, especially in our primary care and mental health care systems. The pandemic has preyed upon our weakness and has demonstrated that
we need to invest even more in our primary care and mental health systems to meet the demands of Delawareans. My incoming Presidential speech last year addressed my initial goal to do just this, and it continues MSD continues to be very active in the Primary Care Collaborative as well as being involved with our state legislators and other stakeholders to address the needed changes. We must do more to advance our health care workforce, mainly by recruiting and retaining physicians in our state.
Lastly, the coronavirus has not only taken a toll on our patients, our staff, our health care system, and our state; it has also increased stress on physicians directly. We must make it a priority to address our own health and do better at recognizing
and acknowledging physician burnout
and fatigue. Our great profession stands
as a pillar for the health of the medical community, and physician wellness must be a priority as we move forward from this pandemic.
As the year comes to an end and the

continue to experience the effects and consequences of the coronavirus. We must keep our eyes wide open and be prepared for a resurgence, or multiple resurgences, if that’s what this virus has in store for
us. However, we also need to get back to business, even if it’s not business “as usual,” because nothing is ”as usual” anymore. We must keep our doors open and care for our patients with acute issues, chronic disease, mental health illness, and addiction.
As I turn over the helm to Dr. Burday, I can assure you that your Medical Society
is in great hands. MSD leaders have been actively involved in the discussion and decisions centered around the coronavirus. There has been a new, well-developed MSD strategic communication plan in place the past few months to help us better engage physicians across the state. This has included increased use of social media and improvements to the Delaware Medical Journal. We continue to work closely with DHSS and DPH to address addiction issues across the state. Plans are being put in place that will provide better educational programs for physicians and patients surrounding treatment programs.
In closing, I would like to thank you all for the opportunity to serve as your
President this year. Although the year has been complicated by the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic and has changed
the perceived normal, it has been the most valuable of my medical career. I have learned more about medicine, politics, have without this unique experience. I am so very proud of the intestinal fortitude of our great profession. We met this seemingly indestructible virus head on, fought through it, and continue to care for the citizens of Delaware. I have been fortunate to be at the helm while your Medical Society stepped up and supported patients and physicians through the state. As I said during my inaugural speech last November, the time is now for us all to step up and become active, the MSD staff have responded. I ask now that we all continue this progress into 2021. I assure you that your MSD is prepared to lead, assist, and support you along the way.
Thank you to Dr. Burday, the Past Presidents, MSD leadership, Mark Thompson, Mary LaJudice, and the MSD staff for your help and support throughout the year. And again, thank you to the membership for this great opportunity to serve you!
Joseph J. Straight, MD
President, Medical Society of Delaware
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Del Med J | November/December 2020 | Vol. 92 | No. 6