To our Gold community,
All of us here at The Arnold P. Gold Foundation are thinking of all of you and hope you are healthy and safe. For all of modern history, the healthcare community has rushed in to respond to emergencies, and we know healthcare professionals are especially at risk in this environment.
The extended Gold Foundation family is grateful beyond words to the physicians, nurses, and many other clinicians and healthcare workers, from custodial staff to CEOs, who are caring for people.
Humanism in healthcare matters more urgently now. This is a frightening and uncertain time, and the commitment of those on the front lines to scientific excellence, compassion, and collaboration – the three defining characteristics of humanism in healthcare – will help everyone around the globe get through this time.
Thank you to every single member of the healthcare world. We appreciate deeply the fight you are undertaking to help us all.
How the Gold Foundation is responding
Our mission at the Gold Foundation continues, as urgently as ever. You might find essays from our annual Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest a comforting read right now. The forceful human connection that shines through the writing of these doctors and nurses in training is inspiration we can all use.
We have reached out and are working with our Gold Humanism Honor Society student leaders in order to support their work in responding to COVID-19. We’ve received thoughtful and inspiring responses for supporting each other.
As we work remotely now, there will be delays in sending out materials for our shared ceremonies, and we will be reaching out to schools to share our updated processes. Any updates on the timeline of future programs will be posted on our website. Additionally, we are working to create resources that you can access remotely—from recorded keynote addresses to a special edition of Research Roundup that is dedicated to articles and information that will be relevant to your work, now. As new resources are developed, they will also be posted.
The Gold Partners Council and Gold Corporate Council are making important contributions to this fight, and we are extremely proud of their efforts. We look forward to sharing with you specific updates on their valuable initiatives in the coming days.
We encourage members of the Gold community – past honorees, grantees, fellows, Gold Humanism Honor Society members – to reach out to us. While we are not making new grants at this time, we want to hear from you with ideas of how we can help in supporting you in humanistic practice in this pandemic. You can reach Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Cleek at ecleek@gold-foundation.org or the full Gold team through our main email, info@gold-foundation.org. Your emails will be read and sent along to the right person.
Events may shift
Our #YeahYouWrite event planned for March to celebrate the Bellevue Literary Review was postponed, and we will continue to update you as other planned events are re-evaluated.
The Canadian Conference on Medical Education, scheduled for April in Vancouver, was to include a fireside chat with Dr. Jillian Horton, recipient of the 2020 AFMC-Gold Humanism Award, and presentation of her award. The conference will now be virtual, and we will find another time to present Dr. Horton her honor and celebrate her impact.
Whenever possible, we will share recordings of events with you. You can view the recording of the latest “Flourishing at Work: Mindful Practice for Clinicians and Leaders” webinar, with helpful techniques and tips from Mindful Practice co-founder Dr. Mick Krasner.
Stay connected with us
For the latest updates, sign up for our newsletters and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Please do share helpful messages with us, including moments of connection you observe, words of support, and links to helpful guidance based in science.
While social distancing is essential, isolation is harmful. Simply, we hope to connect with you. Thank you for helping keep our connection vibrant and strong.
We will continue to update this information. Please take care, and know that your contributions, large and small, are incredibly important.
Together, our care and compassion, our collaboration, and our adherence to scientific excellence and guidance – the three essential aspects of humanism in healthcare – will help us all get through this challenging time.
With appreciation and care,
Gold Foundation Staff
