An Attitude of Gratitude: The Physicians’ Role in Philanthropy Article Swipe

An Attitude of Gratitude: The Physicians’ Role in Philanthropy James Malone I am the Chief Medical Officer at French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, California and practice medicine with a specialty in hematology. About five years ago, we started actively engaging in grateful patient giving at French Hospital. A consultant came to meet with us to set up a formal program. He explained that the foundation needed to enlist the help of the physicians in this community to be alert to situations where patients and their families may be expressing gratitude and what we could do, as physicians, to validate that gratitude. People would say to us, “Thank you so much for the care, it means a lot.” and we were used to saying “Oh it’s nothing. It’s fine.” But research shows that’s a big turn off to people. Expressing thanks is their attempt to give you something and putting your hand up and saying “we’re just doing our jobs,” is like turning away a housewarming gift. We learned that you have to understand how to receive praise, thanks and gratitude graciously and how to say, “You’re welcome.” We also learned that it’s OK to make a referral to the experts in our foundation when someone wants to volunteer or give other resources as a way of showing that gratitude. I’m not the expert in that, nor should I try to be. Just like if I have a patient with a heart problem, I refer them to a cardiologist. The biggest lesson I learned from working with our foundation is how important this is for people’s healing process—whether they are having a good outcome or not. We want to provide heart care, cancer care, and also the care of their spirit and soul. Sometimes our physicians will think getting involved with philanthropy is somehow unethical or wrong or that they are ill-equipped to do it. But we are in a unique position to hear people trying to express their gratitude. Once I started changing my approach, I realized people did talk about this all of the time, but I wasn’t truly listening for it. I needed to make that connection to what they were saying they wanted and how it was part of their healing. I don’t ever talk to people about money. I listen and I say, “If you want to help us in the mission, come aboard.” Then I introduce them to the foundation. One great example is a patient, George who I was taking care of for the better part of 10 years. He had blood cancer and had many rough patches. His treatment included chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants. He was always talking about [End Page 20] how grateful he was. I decided to invite him to our big annual fundraising event—Share the Hope. He was at the point in his journey where he needed some inspiration. Throughout the night, you could see how moved he was by all of the stories from patients and families and all the support that’s provided. That night, during the call to action, George raised his paddle and made a significant gift. We had never talked about a donation. We didn’t have to. In cancer care, everything we do is at some “cost” to the patient. It’s not lost on me that what we put people through can be punishing. That night, with George, I thought, “I just gave him some good medicine.” Being involved in him making that donation and saying thank you helped me feel like we completed a part of healing that he needed. George’s story is an example that stands out, but there are many ways that being a part of our foundation’s work—and specifically with grateful patient fundraising—has boosted satisfaction in my work and positively affected my relationships. This work with fundraising can bring you closer to your patients, because it gives you one more thing you share with them—your love and passion for supporting the hospital. Working with our foundation at French Hospital brings me great pride and satisfaction. As I...