From the Presidents
There’s a crackle in the air on campus these days … the crackle of creativity.
The MCG community has many wonderful attributes, but creativity is the one that comes to mind right now as existing faculty ratchet up their efforts and new recruits bring an infusion of new ideas to campus.
For instance, newly recruited Cancer Center Director Kapil N. Bhalla speaks of “dreaming the impossible,” a concept that transcends science and hints at the passion and dedication that characterize our commitment to battling cancer. But make no mistake: science holds the key to transforming this dream into a reality, and MCG researchers are working hard to make that happen.
Another new face on campus, School of Medicine Dean Doug Miller, cites a “go-forward blueprint,” an apt symbol of his guidepost in elevating the school to new heights.
These are but two of the many new faces on campus whose energy and creativity are supplementing the extraordinary contributions of longtime faculty and staff.
Their efforts are all aimed at improving the health of Georgians while we launch exceptionally well-prepared new health care providers and biomedical researchers into the workforce.
Drs. Bhalla’s and Miller’s appointments roughly coincided with the most exciting MCG event of the year: commencement. This year’s speaker, Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that leadership is a privilege.
As I oversee a period of unprecedented achievement and creativity on campus, I could not agree more.
Sincerely,
Daniel W. Rahn, M.D.
President, Medical College of Georgia
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2006 study of 2003 data predicts that nearly 300,000 men and 275,000 women in the United States will die this year from cancer. According to this study, the cancer death rate has decreased only slightly since 1950. Of the 1.4 million new cancer cases predicted to occur in the United States this year, 36,500 of them will be diagnosed in Georgia.
The Medical College of Georgia and MCG Health System exist to improve health. Accomplishing that requires much more than technical competence and scientific know-how. It requires that we apply our clinical services, academic programs and research to improving the lives of our fellow human beings, one patient and one family at a time. Toward that end, we bring the full weight of our skills and talents, innovations and creativity, and scientific curiosity and discovery to bear on understanding and fighting cancer.
In this issue of MCG Today, you will read about the powerful tools we have amassed in our fight to understand, prevent, detect, treat and control the course of the disease. These tools give us great confidence and optimism that we will one day best this formidable opponent.
We pledge to remain focused on cancer, doing our part to reduce its toll on all of us and our families. Please join us in this effort. Together, we can make a difference.
Sincerely,
Don Snell
President and Chief Executive Officer
MCG Health, Inc.