Climb the Mountain

An open letter to his colleagues from Dr. Herbert Bauer, who will be 91 next January.

At the last meeting of the then-still Yolo County Medical Society, it was disappointing to see such a small attendance, speaking in favor of the merger without much significant discussion. It did not come as a surprise.

Our medical society, once a vigorous group dealing with essential community problems in monthly meetings, had slowly drifted into quarterly meetings, with nothing much happening in between. Faced with a choice of integration or disintegration, integration in the form of a merger is the appropriate answer.

Yet, as a member of our society for more than half a century and one of its previous presidents who has worked hard to keep Yolo County on the map, I cannot help feeling a bit sad over an event that tends to blur the distinction between merging and submerging. In my opinion, there are five main reasons for this occurrence.

First, the faculty organization of our university is an empire unto itself, with no strong connection with medical societies east or west of the river. Second, Woodland Memorial Hospital has a well organized and busy staff, with not much time for work outside its walls. The same, though to a lesser degree, is true of Sutter-Davis Hospital. Third, there is the geographical division of Yolo County, with its eastern part (including physicians) being much more affiliated with Sacramento than with the western side of the county. Fourth, some isolated physicians in private practice have little motivation to "belong" to groups. Fifth, many of our physicians work with their own specialty organization. For many of them, just one more meeting is simply one too many.

One way to cure this situation after the merger might be to select members of the five groups, define their common interest and role in the new medical society and assure them of proper representation. They will, of course, have the last say in getting together or drifting apart.

Sierra, an old word in our new name, has two meanings in translation: "saw" or "mountain range." We may use either meaning to achieve our goal: We may use a saw to cut the ties between our societies, widen the distance between Yolo and Sacramento, bewail the loss of our identity and gradually disappear from the scene.

Or we may climb the mountain range together, look down and discover that all of us are part of the same territory. Then we can take a deep breadth and blow life into a dyspneic organization in need of oxygenation.

For the sake of all of us, in all three counties, let us choose the latter option.

As I sign this letter, my heart may skip a beat or two, yet the future beckons a strong and joyful rhythm.

In all sincerity,

Herbert