legacy – The Early Career Voice

Dr. Elijah Saunders was born in Baltimore City in 1934. As a young student he received a BS degree from Morgan State College in 1956 and he received his MD degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1960. During his medical studies, he was one of only four African-Americans in his class of 140 students and was instrumental in helping to desegregate the medical wards. He then went on to become the first African-American resident in internal medicine at the University of Maryland School of medicine and the first African-American cardiologist in the state of Maryland in 1965.

Following fellowship, Dr. Saunders led a successful private practice for the first 20 years of his career before he returned to the University of Maryland as a professor in Cardiology, where he pursued research on hypertension among African Americans. For many years, he led the Hypertension Division in the Department of Medicine. His critical research illuminated that ethnicity may influence the response to certain types of antihypertensive medications. As a result of his research and lobbying, it is now standard for trials to require African Americans to be included in research. Over his career, he published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and eight books.

Beyond his many achievements, including increasing African American representation in cardiovascular drug trials, being a founding member of the Association of Black Cardiologists, and co-founder of Heart House of the American College of Cardiology; Dr. Saunders was known for his positive demeanor, caring disposition, and gentle spirit. As a young black man growing up in Maryland with an interest in cardiology, Dr. Saunders was someone who I always admired. During my fourth year of medical school I spent an away rotation at the University of Maryland in hopes of training under Dr. Saunders, but was saddened to hear of his untimely passing prior to my arrival. However, I eagerly listened to his patient’s detailed stories regarding his intellect, compassion, dedication to health equity, and desire to bring healthcare to non-traditional spaces to reach the most at-risk populations. This experience quickly reaffirmed that Dr. Saunders was the type of cardiologist I hoped to emulate: clinically skilled, empathetic, and a leader in healthcare innovation.

Despite improvements in health distribution inequalities, African-American communities are continuously plagued with cardiovascular disease at an alarming rate. Some of the main contributors to the high burden of disease are the persistent and increasing degrees of limited access to healthy food, low socioeconomic status, and poor nutritional awareness. To address this, Dr. Saunders advocated for community screening and outreach in barbershops and churches in order to engage the black community in non-traditional spaces. In 2006, he developed the Hair, Heart and Health program, an innovative program that trained barbers and hairstylists to pre-screen customers for hypertension and then make referrals for medical care.

I believe as medical professionals we have two profound responsibilities. The first is to be an effective clinician. It is our obligation to treat and heal patients to the best of our abilities, while cultivating and promoting prevention. The second, and perhaps more important, is to go beyond the hospital walls and become an innovator in healthcare. We must identify roadblocks that may impede healthy practices, and provide sustainable solutions for these challenges. I hope that we can all mimic Dr. Saunders’s spirit for innovation and love of patient care.

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

Dear Kobe,

Thank you for inspiring all of us in medicine too.

Sincerely,

The future of medicine.

From Los Angeles to Manila, sports fans and people that know nothing about sports were shattered by the deaths of Alyssa, John, and Keri Altobelli, Gianna and Kobe Bryant, Payton and Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan aboard that helicopter on Sunday January 26, 2020 in Calabasas, California. We all knew exactly what we were doing when OJ was found not guilty, when we realized Prince would never perform Purple Rain again, when Whitney was found in her bathtub, and when we found out Robin Williams would never star in a Broadway play of Patch Adams. Kobe’s death will be no different. I was sitting on my couch watching reruns of a show on BET with one of my best friends. We sat there stunned for several hours hoping this was some sort of sick joke, but as every news outlet and social media platform picked up the tragedy, I felt sick.

Death is inevitable. It’s the only thing we know for sure is going to happen to every single one of us. But like I said in my previous blog about being on heart donor call, when the deaths are unexpected and take young people, they are shocking, they are life altering, they are gut wrenching. They remind you that life is fragile and our time here is limited.

Kobe’s legacy will live on forever through the magic he shared with people he knew directly and with people he never met, like myself, who grew up watching him, sometimes hating him because he was destroying your team. His work ethic was unmatched, and his love of the game surpassed every athlete’s of our generation.

What did and can we, as clinicians, scientists, and educators, learn from the Black Mamba?

To show up in every single thing we do, every single time

To love our family and friends and make them a priority despite how busy we may be
To leave the world a better place for future generations coming behind us
To inspire those around us to be the very best human beings they can possibly be
To inspire people to live their life’s purpose
To inspire people to live each day like it’s their very last
To bring grit and passion to everything we do
To find that fire inside and keep it ignited
To set monstrous goals, crush them, and then set even bigger goals
To find the things we love doing outside of medicine and do them with our whole heart. I mean, you won an Oscar, Kobe
To love deeply
To never take no for an answer
To bring heart to everything we do
To know when it’s time to leave the stage
That without obstacles there is no growth
That we can be fierce AND kind
That there are no ceilings
That records are made to be broken
That one human being can indeed have a profound impact on the entire world
That when we feel like quitting, we should ask, what would Kobe do?

May you, your daughter, and all the passengers aboard that helicopter RIP. Your legacy will live on through all of those you touched. There are no words to express how grateful we are to have been touched by your magic.

So, what legacy are you going to leave behind?