March 30, 2022
March 30 is National Doctors Day – a day set aside to recognize the contributions of physicians to people’s lives and the communities they serve.
Doctors Day was first observed on March 30, 1933 in Georgia to commemorate the first use of anesthesia, which had been done nearly 90 years prior. In 1990, legislation was introduced in the House and Senate to establish a national day of recognition. Following overwhelming approval by the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, on Oct. 30, 1990, President George Bush signed the measure.
Now, nearly 90 years after that first observation day, Doctors Day has grown to be an official day of recognition celebrated throughout the country to recognize the commitment and dedication of an estimated one million practicing physicians across the United States.
At Lee Health, we have more than 2,000 physicians on our medical staff who provide our community with high-quality, compassionate care. They help others, and they save countless lives every day and night.
These past two years, as we have lived through a global pandemic and our health care teams have fought COVID-19 on the frontlines, we see even more our doctors’ (and the entire health care teams’) commitment to caring.
I recently spoke with a pulmonologist and critical care specialist who has been on the frontlines of the pandemic from the beginning, treating hundreds of our COVID-19 patients at Lee Health. He told me what it was like to care for his first COVID-19 patient and the overwhelming personal responsibility he felt. He was scared. So many of our physicians were as they went room to room, wave after wave. But it was their dedication to caring for and serving people that powered them through it.
So, please join us as we recognize and celebrate our doctors on National Doctors Day. If you know a doctor – or the next time you see one, please thank them for all they do.