39°
Celebrated annually on March 30, Doctors’ Day began in 1933 in Winder, Ga. when Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, decided to set aside a day to honor physicians. This first observance included mailing greeting cards and placing flowers on the graves of deceased doctors. In 1958, a resolution commemorating Doctors’ Day was adopted by the United States House of Representatives, and in 1990 legislation established National Doctor’s Day.
In honor of the holiday, Nyack Hospital thanks its doctors for their dedication, innovation, compassionate care and life-changing work. Here are several of these doctors' stories, and how they became the physicians they are today:
Dr. Jeffrey S. Rabrich, medical director of Emergency Medicine at Nyack Hospital, knew early on he wanted to devote himself to emergency medicine. “I got involved in emergency care at a very young age, joining my local ambulance corps when I was 16,” said Rabrich. “As I was riding the ambulance first as an observer then as an EMT and finally as a paramedic, I had a natural curiosity and wanted to learn more about how to care for patients. This led to my interest in medicine at a young age, as well as emergency medicine in particular. I actually never thought of doing any other career, as providing emergency medical care has always been very rewarding and provided me a great opportunity to help others in a time of need."
For Dr. Ma. Lourdes de Asis, section chief of Allergy and Immunology at Nyack Hospital, medicine was a family tradition. “I was one of the lucky ones," she said. "I knew I wanted to be a doctor from an early age. My mother was a physician. Her example of wise, compassionate care for our family and community gave me worthwhile goals to strive for in my life and career. It has been said that when you choose an occupation, you should do something you are interested in and are good at, something that you enjoy or makes you happy and something that gives you meaning. Fortunately, medicine checks all these boxes for me.”
Dr. Mark A. Scher, medical director of Psychiatry at Nyack Hospital, came to a career in medicine later in life. “When I was in high school, I was happy, but I wanted to go to college,” he said. “When I was in college, I was happy, but I wanted to be an engineer. When I was an engineer, I was happy, but I wanted to go to law school. When I was a lawyer, I was happy, but I wanted to be a doctor. When I was a doctor, I was happy and still wanted to be a doctor.”
This Doctors’ Day, Nyack Hospital reminds people everywhere to take a moment to thank and recognize physicians for their commitment to making us all as healthy as we can be.
