BRONX, NY, MARCH 2021 – For the last 88 years, National Doctors’ Day has been a great opportunity to celebrate the contribution of doctors, both alive and deceased, for serving our country by caring for our communities. On March 30th, Calvary Hospital observed this annual day in honor of the 20 dedicated physicians who care for more than 6,000 patients every year, whether they are based in the hospital or in the community.
Calvary honored the following doctors who work at the Bronx and Brooklyn campuses, and those who care for patients in the community:
The physicians enjoyed a complimentary luncheon and were each presented with a Certificate of Appreciation, and a red carnation boutonniere — a traditional Doctors’ Day gesture.
Enduring a global pandemic has produced newfound appreciation for medical professionals from Americans across the nation.
Calvary physicians were asked what inspired them to become a doctor and how working through the pandemic has shaped their views on what the medical profession is truly capable of.
“I decided on medical school as a teenager knowing medicine to be a sacred, compassionate profession. I’ve since discovered medicine is indeed more than completing prescriptions or procedures; being a doctor involves the “total” human care of patients and families. This has never been truer than during the pandemic,” said Devmani Jaitly, MD.
“I became a doctor to heal and alleviate patients suffering. The pandemic reminded me of the oath physicians take to always serve and heal the sick. I grateful Calvary enables me to fulfill my vocation of becoming a compassionate physician who serves those in most need,” said Myra Davila, MD.
In the United States, there are over 1 million physicians. However, less than 1% of these physicians specialize in hospice/palliative care. Calvary is proud to have 20 compassionate doctors represent a vast minority that practice this specialty.
The first Doctors’ Day observance was on March 30, 1933, in Winder, Georgia. Eudora Brown Almond, the wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, decided she would like to dedicate a day to honor physicians. In 1990, President George Bush passed a law that recognized March 30th, National Doctor’s Day, to be a national holiday. Traditionally, communities would send greeting cards, deliver red carnations and place flowers on the graves of deceased doctors. Since then, red carnations have become the symbolic flower to honor doctors, to signify the qualities of love, charity, sacrifice, courage, and bravery.
Since 1899, Calvary has been the nation’s only fully accredited acute care specialty hospital devoted exclusively to providing palliative care to adult patients with advanced cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Each more, thousands of patients receive CalvaryCare® throughout the greater New York area. To learn how Calvary can help you and your family, please visit: www.calvaryhospital.org.