A great man died today. Jerod Loeb worked for the JointCommission. He was the Executive Vice President for Healthcare
Quality Evaluation. A researcher,
scientist, PhD, he was brilliant at his work.
But what made him most special was his humor, the way he explained
things and way of speaking to me, a lay person at TJC, in terms and words I
understood. He was always sure to make
sure I knew what he was talking about.
Funny and lively, Jerod was a brilliant, but very approachable and not
in the least bit intimidating.
The
last few years, even more powerful, he became a patient - openly fighting
cancer. He was gutsy enough, time after
time to tell his audience, usually of medical professionals, what it was like
to now be on the receiving end of sometimes questionable care. Each time I saw him, he would have stories
about his care. He recorded the past few
years on a website so his friends, colleagues and loved ones could follow
along.
I didn’t
see Jerod often, but I always knew he was someone I can count on. He had a loyalty to the patients that the
customers of the Joint Commission serve - because he was one of us.
Rest in peace Jerod.
1 comment:
It' always sad to read of someone's passing. The fact that Jerod died due to complications of cancer brings it that much closer to home for me as a survivor. But I'm glad that he was able to bring his very personal impressions of what it is to be a cancer patient to the medical community. One revelation that I recently had was that as good or bad as our health providers are at diagnostics, treatment, or followup thru recovery, they will always be observers and outside of the disease. Only patients live on the inside and can provide them the insight that the medical community - and patients - need so desperately. I hope they listened to him. I hope they continue listening.
- J.
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