The Peru Gazette

My upbringing instilled in me the importance of being thankful for everything, in no small part because my parents had lived through the Great Depression. And throughout my professional life, I’ve been surrounded by selfless health care providers and colleagues who put in long hours to help others – a fact that constantly makes me feel thankful.

In a year like this one, it’s difficult to consistently find reasons to give thanks. But it’s more essential than ever. In fact, I want to take a moment to talk about the importance of gratitude itself – the ability to feel it and share it in these hard times. Gratitude is something that can connect us when the news is so difficult and our divisions are so prominent. Gratitude can boost our sense of well-being, happiness and pride. And gratitude can have a ripple effect in our families and our communities by helping foster generosity and stronger relationships.

The simple act of taking a few moments to reflect on the aspects of our lives that are worthy of gratitude – and then taking just a few more moments to share those thoughts with someone – can have an outsized impact. It can alleviate the sting of our disappointments and challenges; it can make a measurable difference in bridging the gap between ourselves and others; and it can hold us together when problems multiply and morph into crises. Gratitude helps us focus on what matters most, at the times when that matters most.

We’ve learned this year that there are ways to stay connected even when the normal ties that bind us are weakened or broken. Unfortunately, as the holiday season begins, those ties are being tested yet again as rising COVID-19 case counts mean we have to stay apart and practice basic precautions – masking, distancing and hand hygiene – to protect each other. Within our health network, we are responding not only to the COVID-19 surge but also to the ongoing effects of an insidious cyberattack that threatened to weaken the connections between providers and patients, as well as the connections among our staff. We are making steady progress in recovering from that event, and we are striving to make our network stronger as a result.

I am thankful for the many connections and common bonds that continue to make us a community – in fact, a family – of caregivers, patients and neighbors on both sides of the lake. The fact that we have persisted, together, through the trials of this year shows that we all will continue to have much to be grateful for in spite of the challenges ahead.

With gratitude,

John

John R. Brumsted, MD
President and CEO, The University of Vermont Health Network