Picking up where we left off 19 years ago

I made it out of Center City Philly without incident. I drove to the address that I used to live and it was as it seemed from afar yesterday – the building had been updated and a new section added. I drove along Kelly Drive but did not go all the way to 3300 Henry Avenue which used to be MCP Hospital in East Falls. MCP stands for Medical College of Pennsylvania but it was founded around 1860 as Women’s Medical College. The hospital was closed about 2 years after I left. It was a really special place. When I interviewed for the position there in 1996, I could tell immediately that there was something different about it. All of the oil portraits on the walls that would typically be men were women. It was an academic hospital within a community that it served. The focus was more on patient care and student and resident education than research.

I met with Denise and Helen for brunch. Denise was my admin and Helen was my nurse. They were both extraordinary in their roles. It was fabulous to catch up with each others lives and reminisce about our shared experience at MCP. While we are all older and in different places in our lives, it didn’t feel like 19 years had passed. We talked about how we could all work together again in some way.

I spent the afternoon with a colleague from my Pfizer years and his family. His son is about to start his anesthesia residency and his daughter is going to start medical school in the fall. It was interesting to get their perspective on the state of medical in the US.

I safely arrived at my next destination – Margate City NJ, just south of Atlantic City. It is supposed to be sunny and in the 70s for the next few days and it appears like there should be some easy bike rides as well as the beach walking to do.

It was a very special day.