73 Cents Reunion, Washington, DC

Last evening, our very own social network, one that is partially enabled by electronics, but also transcends it, had a reunion of sorts.

We were brought together by Chris Schroeder and the team at HealthCentral, along with special guest Sam Kass, White House Chef and leader in the Partnership for a Healthier America effort ( Kaiser Permanente is a funding organization ). [Despite this post’s title, by the way, the event was really called “People With Health Impact”]

Colleagues Regina Holliday, Dave deBronkart, Christine Kraft, Liz Scheerer, and Cindy Throop were present, as well as fellow Clinovations team members Rodrigo Martinez, Lygeia Ricciardi, Anita Samarth and Trenor Williams. We were also treated to a suprise visit (for me) anyway, by Jen McCabe

What’s special about this group is the amount of effort we put into what we do, individually and as a group, and when we get together, most of the discussion is about what we want to envision/achieve next. It reminds me of a small medical school/grad school class of students who learn together over time. The difference here is that we are teaching each other. Since having one of our first “unions” of sorts, it is wonderful to reconnect and reflect. That’s the spirit of social networking.

This is a photograph I took of the patients in the room. After our work together (it’s been almost exactly a year since we first learned about 73 cents), I can honestly say that having them in the room brings comfort, not dread as some health professionals feel when they talk about having patients in “their” spaces. This is the next level beyond just imagining that the patient is at my elbow in what I do. Trust me, they make the work easier and more fulfilling, not harder and less fulfilling.

A few more photos:

And this one, of Liz and Jen, which I’m calling “Friend Request Accepted”

You don’t have to live in DC to have a social network like this. If you are a doctor/care provider/business professional, find patients. If you are patients, find doctors/care providers/business professionals. And be like DC, where people believe everything is possible, because it is.

With great thanks to HealthCentral for bringing such a great group of people together.