Each morning, as I walk to the Metro on my way to NCWW (okay, it’s not every morning – but I try to walk as often as I reasonably can!), I have plenty of time to think about my upcoming and previous days. The past few weeks, I’ve reminisced about all we accomplished in 2012.
I think you’ll be as amazed as I am to see what our team achieved, both inside and outside our clinic walls.
Perhaps what’s most impressive is that everything you’ll see here was accomplished in “spare time”. The bulk of our days and nights were spent in the trenches working with all of you, which brings us the greatest pleasure and reward of all.
Before I share our professional accomplishments, some important “real life” milestones: Neelum Khattam, our front office manager, ran the Rebel Race 5K–and got married! Anna Kisnowski came on board as practice manager. Selam Bahiru had a baby! And of course, the biggest step for me was starting up our new National Center for Weight and Wellness, a completely different kind of clinic from just about everything else out there.
Amidst all the good news, we unexpectedly lost our dear friend, trusted colleague and compassionate doctor Marilyn Sperling in May. We miss her every day. She would have been so proud of all the things you and we have accomplished. We’re planning to create a scholarship in her name; more on this to come shortly.
Some other fun facts from 2012, the year that was:
- We did our best to share the clinic’s knowledge through new workshops and classes plus public lectures and presentations about what’s working in obesity management, nutrition and health: Congressional briefings, workshops on topics like body image, news-you-can-use sessions like Fabulous Fiber, elementary school talks and more
- Would you believe we’re global? Seriously! We were invited by newspapers, TV and radio all over the world to share ideas about what works and what doesn’t: MSNBC, USA Today, Men’s Health, the Washington Post and Atlanta Journal Constitution, Al Jazeera, Fox News, NPR, French Radio & Voice of Russia (!) and many others.
- A big hug of appreciation goes to the groups we supported with time and money in 2012, because they’re helping make lives better in a lot of different ways: the National Kidney Foundation, American Heart Association, United Way, Dempsey Challenge, Goodwill, The Fishing School, and the Sadhu Vasvani Mission.
- Want to catch up on the latest science around eating and weight? You won’t want to miss the riveting, dramatic, edge-of-your seat scientific journal articles, textbook chapters and other publications from our team. Some folks say they’re better than sleeping pills but I’m sure they were just kidding.
- And many of our professionals were recognized by their peers for their leadership achievements in a multitude of important nutrition, obesity and community health organizations
Finally, I want to wrap up our “year in review” with the best part of all: a comment from Kathy Bovino, a patient who said
“This staff is AWESOME! Always friendly, accommodating, helpful, and patient. How does everyone remember all our names??!! The way the programs can be totally individualized through individual and group nutrition education, behavioral changes and interventions, physician meetings, grocery store tours (FANTASTIC!) is an amazing way to actually change yourself into a person who is healthy, fit, and happy. Thank you for ALL you do!”
The feeling’s mutual. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be part of your journey as we all learn from each other, and we look forward to a great 2013!
~Scott Kahan
