Notes from Steve
My friend Cheryl said the other day, “Don’t you wish we were young again?” I don’t know. I’m not sure what I would do differently, and, for that matter - if my younger years were such a great time, it was good, but now is good as well. People were telling me last week that my retiring next year is too early. Hmmm … maybe and probably - but I’m not retiring from life - I’m moving on to the next chapter, and I hope I’ll have many more chapters.
I’ve been here 30 years. Amazing memories and tons of stories … but change is good - for everyone. It’s scary, but it reignites life. My riding friends in Des Moines do everything and always. They are traveling, and trying out new stuff, and helping each other out … and they are around my age. The key to living successfully is to maintain good health and test your limits constantly.
One of the things I’m most proud of with Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics is our focus on employee wellness - physical and mental. We care for each other. We support each other. This has little to do with me; it’s who we are. Small town values.
So, over the next year-plus, I plan on leaving the stories and memories in this space. Snippets of life in Community Memorial Hospital/Wright Medical Center/Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics.*
*Dr. Young was in hospice in March of 2005. He and Betty sold me their house in 2002 and moved into The Meadows. She was a tall, leggy blond who used to play the stand-up bass in a bluegrass band. Paula Abbas was the singer in the band. Doc loved that bluegrass band, and in his final days (inpatient in Clarion in the hospice room), Paula and the band squeezed into the patient room and played Doc his favorite songs. The hospital staff was in the family room, spilling into the hallway, listening and crying. It was a beautiful moment.**
**Dr. Richard Young was among the first group of providers when Community Memorial Hospital in Clarion opened in November 1951. Paula Abbas was the Clarion Family Medicine Clinic Leader for many years.
