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What to Look For in This Issue of the Bulletin
ByTRichard E. Burney, MD
he theme of this issue of the Bulletin is COVID-19, two years into the pandemic. When I began plan- ning the issue two months ago, it looked like the
epidemic was on the wane, which was of course before the Delta variant started to sweep across the state, laying the unvaccinated low and affecting the vaccinated as well. The number of cases and the stresses upon the hospital systems across the state are as bad if not worse than ever before. This time, the spread is more uniform geographi- cally, affecting the whole state.
My chief goal in this issue is to highlight the work of the Washtenaw County Medical Society’s COVID Work Group, which has been active since March 2020 helping to coor- dinate care across the county. This group is, I believe, unique in the state in what it is doing. When I began to write the story, what I didn’t realize was that this group was first activated over 10 years ago for a different epidemic. That story is told in a variety of forms: narrative, interviews, and a graphic depiction. The COVID Work Group serves as an example of what organized medicine can do if it’s willing to take a leading role.
In this issue, you will also find a letter chastising the Michigan State Medical Society for not being more visible and outspoken in advocating for the kinds of preventive measures needed to stem the tide of COVID infections.
This letter was written before the current Del- ta wave hit us.
An additional per-
spective on epidemic
management is pre-
sented by the interest-
ing story of the Swine
Flu Affair of 1976, which was responsible, perhaps, for beginning to sow the seeds of distrust in mass vaccination by the federal government.
Also in this issue are Reflections by M1, Vanessa Elliott. As I read her essay, it made me wish I were starting med school all over again. She explains much better than any of the associate deans what the new curriculum is all about!
Two stories are shared. One was written by the late Rick Swartz (with Erica Perry) and published in the Summer 2019 issue of the Bulletin. I have chosen to reprint his af- fecting story of humanity in medicine in his memory. It is worth rereading as an example of compassionate health care we would do well to emulate.
Finally, for diversion, I share the continuing story of our family “cottage” in the Upper Peninsula in the 1950’s, a depression-era structure on an island that had no electric- ity or running water but was beloved by all. •
4 Washtenaw County Medical Society BULLETIN WINTER 2021