A Tribute to Dr. Marjorie S. Rosenthal
May 17, 2021- 00:02Welcome, I'm Anna reisman.
- 00:04Thank you for joining us in this
- 00:06tribute to Doctor Marjorie Rosenthal,
- 00:07who many of us knew as Margie to
- 00:10accomplish so much in her 53 years.
- 00:12The last 18 of or so of which were spent
- 00:15here in New Haven where Margie was part
- 00:17of many communities at the medical school.
- 00:20And of course in New Haven.
- 00:22Tonight we're going to highlight
- 00:23some of her work related to two
- 00:26programs here at the medical school
- 00:27and in two areas that she really
- 00:29brought together in beautiful,
- 00:31meaningful ways.
- 00:32These programs are the National Clinician
- 00:34Scholars Program and the Program for
- 00:36Humanities in Medicine and by extension,
- 00:38merges creative worker essays.
- 00:40In her graphic narrative,
- 00:41we've put together a program that
- 00:44includes reflections on margins,
- 00:45work along with readings of essays,
- 00:47and graphic memoir.
- 00:48We have closed captioning available
- 00:50and we welcome you to use the chat.
- 00:56Hi everyone, I'm Carrie growth.
- 00:59We first met Margie in Baltimore
- 01:01in 1998 where Amal Margie's husband
- 01:03and I were both clinical scholars
- 01:06and it's been such a joy to know.
- 01:09Margie as a friend.
- 01:10As a fellow scholar and then as a
- 01:13colleague over the next 20 years.
- 01:16You know people often use the phrase
- 01:18friend and colleague or friends
- 01:20and colleagues diamond accounting,
- 01:22but in this case the.
- 01:24It's an app to turn of phrase.
- 01:27Margie was a friend.
- 01:28First an authentic, engaged,
- 01:30caring friend and a colleague seconds.
- 01:33And what a colleague all of us in this
- 01:36college program have shared the joy.
- 01:38That is Margie.
- 01:39Watching her raise for wonderful
- 01:41girls giving us advice about raising
- 01:43our kids when we ask for it.
- 01:45Making fundamental contributions
- 01:47as a physician and scientist
- 01:49serving not only as a pillar of
- 01:52multiple communities but also the
- 01:54friend and mentor to all of us.
- 01:56The Clinician Scholars Program is the
- 01:58training program whose mission spoke
- 02:00to Margie's core values training
- 02:02the next generation of leaders in
- 02:04healthcare who will use research and
- 02:06advocacy to make a difference to
- 02:08make a role to better place like Margie did.
- 02:12But the program is more than that.
- 02:15It's a family of sorts and we have
- 02:17Margie to thank for this as one of
- 02:20Margie's meant he's recently wrote
- 02:22to me Margie's Open door and Open
- 02:25Heart made us feel part of something bigger.
- 02:28Helped us feel like we had a
- 02:30place that we belong.
- 02:32She modeled the way of living,
- 02:34loving and embracing the contradiction,
- 02:36contradictions,
- 02:36complexities and heart breaks of
- 02:38life that I aspire to emulate.
- 02:40So tonight we'll hear from Margie's.
- 02:42Work friends, the clinician scholars,
- 02:44her colleagues in the community,
- 02:46and a yeah I wanted to thank Margie's family,
- 02:49several of whom are here.
- 02:51Tonight.
- 02:51I wanted to thank her daughters,
- 02:54Maya and Alina, and Jimmy and Debbie Shea,
- 02:56and also Brian for sharing Margie with us.
- 02:59Her clinician scholars,
- 03:00family.
- 03:07Hi again, so I'm going to kick
- 03:10off the reflections and don't
- 03:12worry this is not just going to be
- 03:13me and Kerry
- 03:14going back and
- 03:15forth. I want to read a statement
- 03:17a a nominating statement last year
- 03:18March she was nominated for a
- 03:20prestigious award and I've received
- 03:22permission to read aloud some
- 03:24selections from the nomination.
- 03:25Although I'm not permitted to
- 03:26say what it was for,
- 03:28but I'll just say that to get nominated
- 03:30for this was quite remarkable.
- 03:34And so I'm quoting here.
- 03:36I would like to nominate Marjorie Rosenthal,
- 03:39associate professor of Pediatrics
- 03:41at Yale School Medicine.
- 03:43Doctor Rosenthal is a category
- 03:45defining physician, writer, artist,
- 03:47and activist whose works explore topics
- 03:50including patient safety, gun violence,
- 03:52vulnerable populations, and equity.
- 03:54Diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer,
- 03:56she masterfully documents how she navigates,
- 03:59confronts health systems by
- 04:00using multiple forms of media,
- 04:03including the written essay.
- 04:04Cartoons and social media.
- 04:06She is one of the rare physician
- 04:08writers whose work is inclusive and
- 04:10instructive for physicians and patients.
- 04:12When she writes about watching a nurse not
- 04:15wash their hands properly before procedure
- 04:17and how she manages that experience,
- 04:20she not only educates healthcare providers,
- 04:22but helps other patients understand
- 04:24how they too can potentially confront
- 04:26errors they are experiencing.
- 04:27This is why I believe her work
- 04:30is so creative and stands out
- 04:33among other physician scholars.
- 04:35Doctor Rosenfeld manages to make
- 04:36her diagnosis and managing all of
- 04:38the grief and loss and change she
- 04:40is experienced into something that
- 04:42is iaccessible for the reader.
- 04:43I don't think there are many others who do.
- 04:46It is definitely an elegantly as she does,
- 04:48so that was the nominating statement.
- 04:50So maybe you're thinking what a pity
- 04:52Margie didn't get to know about this.
- 04:54Well she did.
- 04:55I shared it with her back in October 1 day
- 04:58while visiting with her on her front porch.
- 05:01Margie was so delighted and awestruck an
- 05:03flattered and giddy with the idea of it.
- 05:05She couldn't believe it.
- 05:06And yes, she didn't know what this was and.
- 05:09Emanation for it was a joyous moment.
- 05:13And so, in that spirit,
- 05:14I'm glad to be sharing this story with you,
- 05:17and to have this opportunity to
- 05:19share some of Margie's work,
- 05:21her connections, collaborations,
- 05:22creations from these different
- 05:23spheres from her friend.
- 05:25The category defining physician,
- 05:26writer, artist, and activist.
- 05:27I'll just say one other thing briefly,
- 05:29and then I'll turn over the mic to and green.
- 05:33So these days, Carrie and I frequently
- 05:35find ourselves saying,
- 05:36what would Margie do?
- 05:37Maybe it's about some piece of writing,
- 05:40some essay that until last summer,
- 05:42Margie and I and the rest
- 05:44of our writing group.
- 05:45Lisa,
- 05:45Randy,
- 05:46and Pauline might be discussing
- 05:47over coffee at Cedar Hurst.
- 05:49Maybe it's about the scholars program.
- 05:51Maybe it's dealing,
- 05:52maybe it's about dealing with
- 05:54whatever vicissitudes of life
- 05:55those of you who knew Margie.
- 05:57You know I'm talking about.
- 05:58She took it all in.
- 06:00She chewed on it.
- 06:01She proffered pretty much the
- 06:03wisest take on whatever it was.
- 06:05And so when I read her writing,
- 06:07revisit old favourites,
- 06:08I hear her voice, her brilliant
- 06:10takes on all sorts of situations.
- 06:12It was difficult to select
- 06:14just a few for tonight.
- 06:16They are also great.
- 06:18Margie's writing is like a casual,
- 06:21beautiful, deep meaty,
- 06:22always memorable conversation
- 06:24with a good good friend.
- 06:27Thank you.
- 06:31Thank you Anna.
- 06:35My name is Anne Green.
- 06:37Anne I'm speaking to you tonight in the
- 06:39vain attempt to describe what it was like
- 06:42to work with my colleague and friend,
- 06:45Marjorie Sue Rosenthal.
- 06:46Occasionally she would remind me
- 06:49that we met long ago years before I
- 06:53joined the Scholars program in 2014
- 06:55and she was right in my neighborhood.
- 06:58I was an active member of the West
- 07:01River Neighborhood Services Corp.
- 07:03The Corporation would often host
- 07:05outside speakers an invited guests.
- 07:08One evening, probably in 2009 or 2010,
- 07:11Margie came with two Robert Wood Johnson
- 07:14Foundation clinical scholars only.
- 07:16Blackstock and Jed Barrish,
- 07:18who is first year scholars,
- 07:21were looking for community partners
- 07:23to work on a research project
- 07:26like any masterful matchmaker.
- 07:28Margie made the introductions
- 07:30about her scholars, not herself.
- 07:33And matchmaker that she was in no time.
- 07:37Jed onie.
- 07:37My friends,
- 07:38Billy Bromage says he spell and I
- 07:41wound up partnering on a project that
- 07:44became improving access to healthy
- 07:46foods in the West River neighborhood.
- 07:49For that introduction to community
- 07:52engaged research, I am in Margie's debt.
- 07:56Fast forward to 2014.
- 07:58I began my tenure as what is now the
- 08:03N CSPS Community Research liaison.
- 08:07At that time, community based,
- 08:09participatory research or CPR was under
- 08:13the stewardship of a team of four.
- 08:16Margie Marcella, Nunez Smith,
- 08:18Emily Wong and me together.
- 08:21We crafted curriculum, supported,
- 08:23and evaluated scholars,
- 08:25justified budgets, brokered conflict,
- 08:27liaised with community partners,
- 08:29old and new.
- 08:31And most importantly,
- 08:33vociferously an consistently made the
- 08:36case for CBP are being rigorous effective
- 08:40research to three primary audiences.
- 08:44Curious scholars,
- 08:45sceptical academic researchers
- 08:47and potential community partners?
- 08:50As Co director of NCSP,
- 08:52much of the day to day work of defining,
- 08:56defending and demonstrating how to do
- 08:59community engaged work fell to Margie.
- 09:02I was often present at those meetings
- 09:05where she could jolt a skittish
- 09:07scholar to return and engage with her
- 09:10or his or her community partner by
- 09:12sharing her own mistakes and biases.
- 09:15While doing partnered research.
- 09:16As many of you can recall,
- 09:18she'd say, well,
- 09:19I think you can get three
- 09:21papers out of that data,
- 09:23and then before the first
- 09:25one was out of draft stage,
- 09:27she proud the scholar about the other two.
- 09:29And by the way, what about dissemination?
- 09:32Who are you planning to
- 09:33share the results with?
- 09:35Anne,
- 09:36for every paper presentation partnership,
- 09:38an epiphany about CB PR.
- 09:40That happened for scholars
- 09:42that came under her wing.
- 09:44They too are in March is debt.
- 09:49By 2020,
- 09:50we had spent six years wandering
- 09:52back and forth between our offices
- 09:55across the Hall from one another,
- 09:58reading drafts and carpooling to
- 10:00get to West Campus for a meeting.
- 10:03In that time,
- 10:04we proselytize for our discipline,
- 10:06encourage ING scholars and fellows to
- 10:09take the chances that help them reconnect
- 10:12to whatever it was that brought them into.
- 10:15Healthcare research,
- 10:16and Marjorie Sue Rosenthal
- 10:18lived what she preaches.
- 10:20She showed up.
- 10:21She met all kinds of people and she listened.
- 10:25She advocated for research budgets
- 10:28that equitably addressed the value
- 10:31in never tease of our community partners,
- 10:34whether they were teenagers or elders,
- 10:37she taught, she nurtured, she created.
- 10:39She mentored an. She fought,
- 10:42and I most weekdays had a front row
- 10:45seat to my magnificent friend and Co.
- 10:49Conspirator. So many of us here are
- 10:53the beneficiaries of Margie's gifts.
- 10:55We're all in her debt. Thank you.
- 11:07Hi, good evening everybody.
- 11:10My name is Ben Oldfield.
- 11:12I'm going to be reading an
- 11:14essay that Margie wrote in 2015.
- 11:19The essay is called what might
- 11:21we accomplished by engaging
- 11:22in our local communities?
- 11:26I sit at the edge of a soccer field
- 11:28on a beautiful New England autumn
- 11:30afternoon watching my first grader and
- 11:33her peers run up and down the field.
- 11:35The clump of children hovering around the
- 11:37ball reflects the diversity of our community.
- 11:40They are daughters of firefighters,
- 11:42taxi drivers, artists,
- 11:44administrative assistance and physicians.
- 11:47If skin colors of every shade they speak.
- 11:49English, Spanish and Arabic at home
- 11:52they have a body mass index that ranges
- 11:55from normal to overweight to obese.
- 11:57When we clinicians spend time in the same
- 12:00communities where our patients live,
- 12:02we learn.
- 12:03We learn about demographics.
- 12:06We learn about challenges and ask this.
- 12:08We may spend time on neighborhood
- 12:11governing boards and local food
- 12:13co-ops and sustaining local parks.
- 12:15We may do it to be with young
- 12:17children or older family members.
- 12:19We may do it out of a sense
- 12:22of religious or civic duty,
- 12:24regardless when we spend time
- 12:25in our patients communities,
- 12:27we have the opportunity to
- 12:28enhance our patients lives in our
- 12:30teaching and three key waves.
- 12:32For one, we bring our medical expertise.
- 12:35When we get involved in our children's
- 12:38schools and childcare settings and,
- 12:40for example,
- 12:40help interpret the science of
- 12:42nutrition and physical activity,
- 12:44we can help educators
- 12:45incorporate obesity prevention.
- 12:47Perhaps fewer elementary schools would
- 12:49have reduced physical education and
- 12:51recess time if there were engaged
- 12:53physicians on the school board or PTA.
- 12:56Second,
- 12:56when we spend time in our community,
- 12:58we bring our expertise back to our
- 13:00practice and research inquiries.
- 13:01When we're recommending diet
- 13:03and exercise to our patients,
- 13:04we might do it better if we knew there's
- 13:06a new opportunity for fresh food.
- 13:09Because we have joined the recently
- 13:11formed food Co-op or the YMCA pool
- 13:14had expanded hours because we
- 13:15read about it in the local paper.
- 13:18But we're not just a well informed
- 13:20person telling our patient
- 13:21about Community resources.
- 13:23When were knowledgeable about
- 13:24the local community,
- 13:25we combine our clinical expertise,
- 13:27our research knowledge and community assets,
- 13:29knowledge into information and
- 13:31recommendations that our patients can use.
- 13:34Finally,
- 13:34we teach trainees who tend to be transient
- 13:37about community assets and challenges.
- 13:40We learn more about the importance
- 13:42of social determinants of health,
- 13:44describing how poverty,
- 13:45neighborhood access to food and education
- 13:48all play important roles in health.
- 13:51Having an educator who can teach
- 13:53about the specific local community
- 13:54assets and influences in health
- 13:56may be as important as teaching
- 13:58which antibiotic to use.
- 14:00In the Fellowship program where
- 14:01I teach the Robert Wood Johnson
- 14:03Foundation Clinical Scholars program,
- 14:05each post Doc goes on walking
- 14:08tours of underserved neighborhoods
- 14:09led by neighborhood leaders.
- 14:11Faculty on the Tour connect the
- 14:13assets and challenges of the
- 14:15environment to the literature on
- 14:16the social determinants of health.
- 14:18After The Walking tours,
- 14:20our postdocs report a new understanding
- 14:22of their patients and have new
- 14:24ideas for community based,
- 14:25participatory research inquiries that
- 14:27can translate into better patient care.
- 14:30Influencing health related policy
- 14:31in the community,
- 14:32enhancing patient counseling
- 14:34and teaching trainees about
- 14:35community assets and challenges.
- 14:37Might academia reward that as much
- 14:39as the latest cell biology discovery?
- 14:43And if not, reward at least facilitate the
- 14:45kind of career that encourages that kind of
- 14:48knowledge acquisition and dissemination.
- 14:50While the concept of the
- 14:52physician advocate is not new,
- 14:53as we learn more about the value of patient,
- 14:56centered engagement and
- 14:57shared decision making,
- 14:58it may be especially important now to have
- 15:01mechanisms that facilitate meaningful
- 15:02engagement in our patients community.
- 15:04One may, one way maybe to
- 15:07reconsider academic hierarchies.
- 15:08For example,
- 15:09when academic physicians seek to be promoted,
- 15:11a key criterion at some institutions
- 15:13is that they are known and respected
- 15:16nationally to become an associate
- 15:18professor and internationally
- 15:20to become a full professor.
- 15:22What about including being known
- 15:23and respected in the community
- 15:25in which they practice?
- 15:26This could include the two way
- 15:28St of contributing meaningfully
- 15:29to the local community,
- 15:30as well as bringing knowledge of the local
- 15:33community to the practice and teaching.
- 15:36What if we rewarded the Preceptor who
- 15:37says to the resident when we go back
- 15:39into the room, we should remind Mrs.
- 15:41Jones that they have bulk food
- 15:42at the grocery store.
- 15:43That's a few blocks from her house
- 15:45and she'll find almonds there.
- 15:47Additionally,
- 15:48more funding opportunities could give
- 15:50greater value and knowledge of 1's community.
- 15:54Current community oriented funding resources
- 15:56include the American Academy of Pediatrics,
- 15:58Cash grants,
- 15:59and encourage pediatric trainees to
- 16:01conduct meaningful health related
- 16:02work and non clinical settings.
- 16:04The patient centered Outcomes
- 16:06Research Institute and other
- 16:08federal and foundation sources.
- 16:10Finally,
- 16:10we could consider models that some
- 16:12cities use to attract city residents
- 16:14to apply for civil servant jobs.
- 16:16In some cities,
- 16:17police officers and firefighters
- 16:18get paid more if they live
- 16:20in the city where they work,
- 16:22and in some cities,
- 16:23residents taking the civil service
- 16:25exam are graded on a different curve.
- 16:28Both of these models recognize that
- 16:30there is an intrinsic good to the
- 16:32knowledge and skills that come from
- 16:34living and working in the same place.
- 16:36It's the Willie Sutton theory of
- 16:38learning and teaching about our patients.
- 16:40We need to be where our patients
- 16:42are in our professional lives.
- 16:44We generally interact with patients in
- 16:4615 minute intervals or more intensely
- 16:49for short inpatient intervals.
- 16:50When we're on the same soccer bleachers,
- 16:53PTA food, Co-op board.
- 16:54When we're trying to exercise on the same,
- 16:57only moderately safe sidewalks,
- 16:59we may be learning at least as
- 17:01much and probably more about our
- 17:03patients as we do in the hospital.
- 17:05Obesity prevention is just one example.
- 17:08Community knowledge and partnering
- 17:10skills could enhance patient care
- 17:12research and teaching about other
- 17:14challenges facing communities,
- 17:15including violence, homelessness,
- 17:17and sub optimal schools.
- 17:20With 10 minutes to go in the soccer game,
- 17:22My Daughter scores. It is the wrong goal.
- 17:25The clumps of girls of both teams go wild.
- 17:28They do not know who scored and they
- 17:30do not know it was the wrong bowl.
- 17:33I watched the coach can volunteer
- 17:35parents retrieve the ball
- 17:36and then explain the mistake to the girls.
- 17:38But their joy is not diminished
- 17:40with the information.
- 17:41As we, the grownups on the bleachers,
- 17:43recognize what has happened on the field,
- 17:45we share a smile that transcends
- 17:47all of our differences.
- 17:48In a few minutes, we will get up,
- 17:50collect our children, and leave.
- 17:52But for now, we'll enjoy a few
- 17:54more minutes of community.
- 17:56Thank you.
- 18:03Hi everyone, my name is Jessica Sager,
- 18:06an I'm really honored to
- 18:07be here with you tonight.
- 18:09Thanks so much for inviting me.
- 18:11I'm here to tell you a story about
- 18:14Margie that starts nearly 20 years ago.
- 18:16For those of you who don't know me,
- 18:19I'm the co-founder with Jana
- 18:21Wagner of all our Kin, a nonprofit
- 18:23started here in New Haven in 1999.
- 18:26We work with family,
- 18:27child care educators, women,
- 18:28mostly women who run small child
- 18:31care programs in their homes.
- 18:33These educators play a critical
- 18:34role in the lives of families
- 18:37caring for infants and toddlers,
- 18:39meeting the needs of parents,
- 18:41working nonstandard hours and often
- 18:43serving the families with the greatest
- 18:45barriers to accessing care right now
- 18:48because of COVID-19 family childcare
- 18:49is getting a lot of attention,
- 18:52but it didn't used to be this way.
- 18:55In fact, when we began,
- 18:57we heard a lot of demeaning,
- 18:59derogatory stereotypes about family,
- 19:01childcare educators and what
- 19:03they were capable of.
- 19:05So you can imagine my surprise
- 19:07when one day early on,
- 19:08a pediatrician named Marjorie Rosenthal
- 19:10called up and asked to meet with me.
- 19:13Margie came to our office.
- 19:15Actually it was just an
- 19:17apartment in the Farnam courts.
- 19:18Public housing development.
- 19:19She perched on our sofa.
- 19:21This little green donated loveseat and
- 19:23she told us that she wanted to talk to
- 19:27some of our family childcare educators.
- 19:29So this brings me to the first
- 19:31thing I want to say about Margie
- 19:34Margie was curious she was a true
- 19:36scientist who always wanted to learn
- 19:38more about the world around her.
- 19:41She wanted to know how family
- 19:42childcare educators interacted
- 19:43with parents and children.
- 19:45She didn't accept the conventional wisdom.
- 19:47She wanted to find out for herself.
- 19:50We decided that she would offer a
- 19:52series of trainings for educators
- 19:54and get to know them a bit and then
- 19:57see if they wanted to talk to her.
- 20:00Well, they did want to talk to her.
- 20:03No one from the medical establishment
- 20:06had ever asked to talk to them before
- 20:09they told Margie their stories and
- 20:11Margie in her inimitable Margie Way.
- 20:14Listen,
- 20:14I remember her bursting into my office
- 20:17absolutely glowing with excitement,
- 20:19family, child care educators are amazing.
- 20:21She said.
- 20:22I talked to a family childcare
- 20:25educator who diagnosed a child
- 20:27with diabetes and another who
- 20:29diagnosed the child with Kawasaki.
- 20:32Do you know how rare that is?
- 20:34These educators are part of the
- 20:36health care team and we need to
- 20:39think about them differently.
- 20:40So that brings me to the second
- 20:43thing about Margie Margie was a
- 20:45warrior when she believed the
- 20:47thing was worth championing.
- 20:49Nothing would stop her.
- 20:51She wrote,
- 20:52articles,
- 20:52gave poster presentations and even
- 20:54inspired medical students to write
- 20:56about the role that family childcare
- 20:59educators play as health ambassador.
- 21:01Margie's work was revolutionary.
- 21:02She saw the value in family
- 21:05childcare way before others in her
- 21:07field and we all are Kim's family
- 21:10childcare educators and staff.
- 21:12Loved her for that.
- 21:14If I had all the time
- 21:16in the world, I tell you lots more
- 21:19about what Margie did with all Ark
- 21:22in her work on the board house.
- 21:24He made sure the children in our early Head
- 21:27Start program had access to medical care,
- 21:30but instead I want to talk about the
- 21:32third thing about Margie Margie was kind.
- 21:35She was so very kind she would come
- 21:38to our office usually on her bicycle
- 21:40and always even when she was ill.
- 21:43Glowing with enthusiasm.
- 21:44And with love.
- 21:46She held my hand more times than
- 21:48I can count during tough times
- 21:50at all our kids after she died.
- 21:53I heard stories from so many staff
- 21:55members about her acts of kindness.
- 21:57One person told me how Margie helped find
- 22:00a doctor for her critically ill father,
- 22:02how she wrote back in just two hours
- 22:05with the name another told this story
- 22:07about her first all our Kim board
- 22:10meeting how intimidated she felt until
- 22:12Margie came and sat next to her and
- 22:15gave her that special Margie smile.
- 22:18I miss that smile and you probably do too.
- 22:22It was an honor to know Margie.
- 22:24It was a joy to be her colleague and her
- 22:27friend on behalf of everyone at all our kin.
- 22:30Here's to Margie with gratitude and love.
- 22:33Thank you.
- 22:40Hi, my name is John and this
- 22:44is our friend Christine.
- 22:46We are faculty at Yale School of Medicine.
- 22:50I'm I'm a psychologist.
- 22:51Anne Christine is an
- 22:53emergency medicine physician.
- 22:54We met Margie in 2015 when we
- 22:57took an participated in a year
- 22:59long workshop called Public Voices
- 23:01Fellows and where they pair female
- 23:04academics and other underrepresented
- 23:06voices with academics and teachers.
- 23:08How to write op EDS and did
- 23:11marjis or that year?
- 23:13We're going to share the
- 23:15reading of one of her.
- 23:17Pieces from that year.
- 23:20Thanks Joan Anne.
- 23:21Thanks Anna and Kerry.
- 23:23This piece is titled harming patient
- 23:26satisfaction in the process of measuring it.
- 23:29It was from January 11th, 2016.
- 23:34The first time the social worker
- 23:35asked if she should check in with me.
- 23:38Was this past summer during chemo.
- 23:40We chatted some and after
- 23:42awhile she got up to leave.
- 23:45Then she parted the Privacy Curtain,
- 23:46stepped out, poked her head back in and said,
- 23:49oh, I forgot to ask,
- 23:51what are you most afraid of?
- 23:54Patients are often criticized for
- 23:56what are called doorhandle comments.
- 23:57Those comments brought up as the health
- 24:00care provider is walking out of the room
- 24:03and already has one hand on the door.
- 24:05They are often disease.
- 24:06A patient who has had a very
- 24:08straightforward appointment might state
- 24:09that they have been having chest pain
- 24:12or a myriad of other disclosures that
- 24:14had they been revealed earlier on,
- 24:16would have redirected the
- 24:17appointment very differently.
- 24:18Health care professionals do it too.
- 24:21What are you most afraid of
- 24:23is a huge sleeping question.
- 24:25It invites all sorts of scary answers,
- 24:27some of which I gave to the social
- 24:30worker while she was only half
- 24:32in my closed curtain space.
- 24:34I'm most worried about dying, frankly.
- 24:36And what that would mean for my children?
- 24:39I felt guilty saying that to the
- 24:41social worker as she was leaving,
- 24:43I felt I had burdened her.
- 24:45I had to remind myself that she had
- 24:48asked that she was the oncology social
- 24:50worker and that she probably hopefully
- 24:52had training and how to respond.
- 24:55I'm not sure she did.
- 24:56She walked back into my space,
- 24:58sat down and stated that these were
- 25:01normal feelings. I started to cry.
- 25:04She asked if I was OK.
- 25:06I said I would be and she left.
- 25:09A few weeks later,
- 25:10I received a patient satisfaction
- 25:12survey in the multiple Choice section,
- 25:14I reported that everything was
- 25:16going pretty well at chemo.
- 25:18In the written comments,
- 25:20I described the social worker's
- 25:22surprising last minute question
- 25:23and her clumsy attempt to excuse
- 25:25herself as quickly as possible.
- 25:27Then just this week at Chemo, I run into her.
- 25:30Which is to say that I almost actually
- 25:32run into her because I'm having an
- 25:35ocular migraine and I'm squinting
- 25:36so as to limit the kaleidoscope
- 25:39patterns dancing in front of my eyes.
- 25:41She asks if I have time to talk.
- 25:44I say yes and go sit down and
- 25:46snuggle under the pre warmed blanket.
- 25:49The kaleidoscope patterns are
- 25:50diminishing and I can almost see again.
- 25:53The social worker comes over,
- 25:54close the curtain and sits down.
- 25:57We talk about my children work and me.
- 26:02And then she tells me that she
- 26:04appreciates the constructive criticism I
- 26:06gave her and my patient satisfaction survey.
- 26:08What she knows,
- 26:09what I wrote,
- 26:10and she's acknowledging that to me.
- 26:13She tells me that she and her
- 26:15supervisor worked on her skills
- 26:16over the past few months and she
- 26:18feels good about her progress.
- 26:21Really, because as I sit there
- 26:23in the chemo pod under a blanket,
- 26:25Ivy tubes hanging from my chest
- 26:27and about to get my chemo infusion,
- 26:30I feel incredibly vulnerable.
- 26:31I am all but in a bed and we are
- 26:35in an enclosed space and although I
- 26:37can hear her words telling me that
- 26:40she is grateful to have had the
- 26:42opportunity to work on her skills,
- 26:44I cannot believe she is saying those words.
- 26:47It is like the kaleidoscope patterns
- 26:49I had been seeing.
- 26:51Earlier they sound like words I know,
- 26:53but they do not make sense.
- 26:56I can't believe that in this
- 26:58space she is telling me about her
- 27:00vulnerability as a pediatrician
- 27:02in a hospital based practice.
- 27:04I know my patients are asked to fill
- 27:07out patient satisfaction surveys,
- 27:09yet I have only ever received feedback
- 27:12in the form of aggregate numbers
- 27:14describing how our Department is doing.
- 27:17It turns out that the forms
- 27:19are not anonymous.
- 27:21In the hospital where I both
- 27:23work and get my chemotherapy,
- 27:25the surveys that are increasingly
- 27:27federally mandated for every
- 27:29inpatient and outpatient encounter
- 27:31have numbers on them that link them
- 27:34back to the person filling them out.
- 27:36The comments from the survey,
- 27:38especially extremely positive
- 27:39or negative ones,
- 27:41are transcribed and sent to
- 27:43the relevant supervisor.
- 27:44The supervisor can then link the
- 27:46feedback with actual patients
- 27:48and actual experiences and share
- 27:50that information.
- 27:51With everyone being evaluated.
- 27:54Given the growing importance of these
- 27:56surveys in improving health care,
- 27:58they could and should be a lot
- 28:02more patient centered.
- 28:03For one patient should be aware
- 28:05that the surveys are not anonymous.
- 28:07Secondly,
- 28:08patient should be able to opt in or
- 28:10out of these kinds of discussions.
- 28:13Patients who opt in could elect
- 28:15to have those conversations at
- 28:17their next appointment or at any
- 28:19other mutually agreed upon time
- 28:21when they are fully clothed,
- 28:23sitting upright and understand
- 28:24the purpose of the encounter.
- 28:26I am disheartened by this experience
- 28:28and I need to tell someone about it.
- 28:31I'm considering bringing it up.
- 28:33At next week's chemo port and well
- 28:35before my oncologists has his hand on
- 28:38the door and is about to walk out.
- 28:40Or I could wait until I get
- 28:42the next survey in the Mail.
- 28:58Good evening, my name is Julia Rosenberg.
- 29:01I'm a pediatrician and I'm honored to speak
- 29:04about my experiences as a mentee of Margie.
- 29:07I humbly recognize that I'm one of
- 29:10countless training is whose lives have
- 29:13forever been influenced by Margie's wisdom.
- 29:15Her insight, her kindness, and her guidance.
- 29:19One of the first lessons I learned from
- 29:21Margie was through reading her words.
- 29:23It was through her writing that she
- 29:26taught us the value of sharing stories.
- 29:28So with that, here's my story
- 29:31with Margie one story of many.
- 29:34It's no surprise that the first
- 29:36time I was swept into Marjis orbit,
- 29:38she was teaching being a pediatrician,
- 29:40connecting with communities an inspiring
- 29:42all those around her all in one fell swoop.
- 29:46Diatric interns about our community
- 29:48and our neighbors in New Haven.
- 29:50This is the first time that I learned how it
- 29:53was possible to be engaged in the community.
- 29:56Work as a pediatrician.
- 29:57So I eagerly took merges advice
- 29:59from that day to listen and to learn
- 30:01more about our community strengths,
- 30:03especially in the New Haven
- 30:05immigrant and refugee community.
- 30:06Soon after when I was looking to learn how to
- 30:09improve access to care for this population,
- 30:12I turned to Margie, who,
- 30:13unbeknownst to me only a few
- 30:15days away from a major surgery,
- 30:17did not hesitate to meet and
- 30:19to share her insight.
- 30:21She provided the valuable connections
- 30:22that set me on a trajectory to
- 30:25the work that I'm doing today
- 30:26with her guidance from that day,
- 30:28I started our first research
- 30:30project by connecting with a new
- 30:32mentor whom she suggested.
- 30:34And soon I was swept into
- 30:35her orbit once again,
- 30:37applying to and it's been accepted to
- 30:39the National Clinician Scholar Program,
- 30:40which she Co LED.
- 30:42There with her guidance,
- 30:44I started working alongside
- 30:45community partners and I started
- 30:47working alongside Margie.
- 30:48Her plantings of influence are ongoing
- 30:50as I continue the work that we started
- 30:53together now growing into an ever
- 30:55evolving garden and a web of connections.
- 30:59The whirlwind of connections
- 31:00that Margie generously shared with
- 31:02trainees didn't stop at pediatrician
- 31:04community advocates didn't stop
- 31:06at National clinician Scholar or
- 31:08a New Haven community member.
- 31:10She also mentored so many
- 31:12of us as writers and as storytellers,
- 31:15and she generously joined as we began
- 31:18the stories in pediatric grand rounds.
- 31:21It was Margie who emphasized
- 31:22early in 2020 that these stories,
- 31:25grand rounds needed the name
- 31:27first annual in the title.
- 31:29And she was right the second year,
- 31:32that pediatric stories in grand rounds,
- 31:34now named in her memory, continued.
- 31:36And many who knew her and who are mentored
- 31:39by her shared incredible stories that
- 31:42the community work connections and
- 31:44making waves and changes to improve
- 31:46equity and to improve health care for
- 31:48our community and our like so many
- 31:51here today we all Miss Margie dearly,
- 31:54but her legacy,
- 31:55her heartfelt whirlwind of
- 31:56kindness for connections.
- 31:57And of course her flowering stories.
- 32:00Continue to grow.
- 32:01Thank you.
- 32:12Hi everyone. Anne,
- 32:14my name is Sharon, Asheville.
- 32:17Johns Anne Anne.
- 32:19I'm going to be presenting one
- 32:22of Margie's wonderful graphic
- 32:24memoir pieces along with Chang Soo.
- 32:28We worked with Margie on some graphic
- 32:31memoir workshops for members of
- 32:34the medical school community and it
- 32:37was absolutely incredible experience.
- 32:38I'm a Mets hospitalist and I
- 32:41first met Margie as a resident
- 32:45here and I'll let Chang introduce
- 32:48herself and then we'll read. Hi,
- 32:51this is Jay.
- 32:52My medical student 4th year about some
- 32:55become internal medicine resident here.
- 32:57You knew him a hospital.
- 32:59I first met Doctor Rosenthal when
- 33:01we're putting up exhibition of
- 33:04the memoir that we're going to
- 33:06share with you in Cafe Med and
- 33:08then subsequently on some
- 33:10graphic memoir workshops,
- 33:11it was absolutely an honor
- 33:13and pleasure to be here.
- 33:23And here is the graphic memoir piece.
- 33:51I'll child pose and you can find the
- 33:54full version on the Annals of Internal
- 33:58Medicine Graphic Medicine website.
- 34:04Kanisha is the Hindu God
- 34:05of all living things.
- 34:07He earned his role by
- 34:09outsmarting his brother.
- 34:10When the two of them were challenged
- 34:12to race around the universe,
- 34:14Ganisha walked around his parents,
- 34:16proclaiming that they were his universe.
- 34:19Ganesha is often depicted in a tree pose,
- 34:22a yoga pose that I can barely do.
- 34:28I'm more comfortable in a happy baby pose.
- 34:31Or a child's pose. But it turns out we
- 34:34often don't get to choose our poses.
- 34:41When the genetic counselor told
- 34:43me I had the breast cancer gene,
- 34:45my mom and I cried. The counselor
- 34:48took my mother's hands and said.
- 34:52I'm sure you gave her some good genes too.
- 34:56My husband had just died,
- 34:58leaving me with our two
- 34:59year old and two month old.
- 35:01Many days breastfeeding felt like
- 35:04the only thing I was doing well.
- 35:07Sad Mama pose.
- 35:10The Bracco 1 gene.
- 35:12Everyone has 2 copies of the gene.
- 35:14The normal gene stops
- 35:16cancer cells from growing.
- 35:18People with one mutated gene have less
- 35:20defense against all kinds of cancer.
- 35:26It wasn't that surprising
- 35:27that I had the mutated gene.
- 35:29But it was sad nonetheless.
- 35:32Me, not sure I'm ready to be reassured.
- 35:35Pose my mom feeling guilty and
- 35:38trying to be reassuring pose.
- 35:43For the next 10 years I did the best I could.
- 35:46Raising my daughters happy Mama pose.
- 35:50And following advice for people
- 35:52with mutated breckel one.
- 35:54And every six months I had a mammogram
- 35:57or breast MRI to look for breast cancer.
- 36:00Diligent, patient pose.
- 36:02I had my ovaries removed because Bracco one
- 36:05put me at high risk for ovarian cancer.
- 36:10Until my breast MRI showed
- 36:12an incidental finding,
- 36:14my breasts or fine I had cancer in my liver.
- 36:18They had metastasized from my colon.
- 36:21I've had six years of chemo and a 48
- 36:23hour surgery to remove parts of my liver,
- 36:26pancreas, colon, and a ton of lymph nodes.
- 36:31After surgery, I wasn't allowed
- 36:32to eat or drink until I started
- 36:35my 13 year old daughter.
- 36:36Took that as an invitation to search
- 36:39her phone out of fart yoga poses.
- 36:41Most of the yoga poses were too **** **
- 36:45my belly full of drains and bandages.
- 36:48Almost two years later,
- 36:49on vacation to celebrate my
- 36:51mother's 80th birthday,
- 36:52we took yoga classes every morning.
- 36:54I'm not good at all at this at all.
- 36:58You're not supposed to say that it's a
- 37:01practice you're assuring daughter pose,
- 37:03and maybe you were doing it right.
- 37:07On the last morning of yoga,
- 37:09at the end of class,
- 37:11I told everyone that
- 37:13my mom was
- 37:14turning 80 years old.
- 37:15Wow, congratulations.
- 37:16You look great. You were
- 37:18amazing in class.
- 37:19I never would've guessed you're 80.
- 37:21Yeah maybe 60 tops and then
- 37:24just as we were leaving,
- 37:26the best comment was directed at me.
- 37:28Your mom is great.
- 37:30She gave you some great jeans.
- 37:32Lucky you out daughter pose.
- 37:51Good evening everyone.
- 37:53My name is Joe Ross.
- 37:55I'm a general internist at Yale and I
- 37:58have been working with Margie for many
- 38:01many years as part of the Scholars program.
- 38:04I actually wrote down my remarks,
- 38:06which is not something I generally do
- 38:08particularly these days, but I'm disciplined.
- 38:11I wrote down carrying Anatolia.
- 38:12Write down my remarks, but.
- 38:15It's just so nice to hear
- 38:17readings of Margie's writings.
- 38:19You can literally hear her voice in the air.
- 38:22It's just I'm just loving this whole
- 38:25event so far missing large dearly.
- 38:31You never know when you were
- 38:32going to meet one of the most
- 38:34important people in your life.
- 38:36But when I sat down at the long
- 38:38table in the Clinical Scholars
- 38:40Conference room across from Margie.
- 38:42Her first words should have
- 38:44woken me to the possibility.
- 38:46It was July 2004 and around the table
- 38:48where a group of people I was excited
- 38:51to me will be at a bit intimidated by.
- 38:54As we were setting off on the next
- 38:57chapter of our professional lives
- 38:59to be clinical scholars together.
- 39:01Each of us introduced ourselves.
- 39:04James Leora Marsella, Steve,
- 39:06Susanna and me. And Margie.
- 39:10She explained that she was joining
- 39:12us for this introductory session,
- 39:14even though she was a second year scholar.
- 39:16She was a pediatrician.
- 39:17She transferred from the program in North
- 39:20Carolina to be closer to her family.
- 39:22As her parents lived in Stamford and her
- 39:25seven siblings in and around New York City.
- 39:28She told us she was the mother
- 39:29of two young girls, Mayan Alina,
- 39:31who were about three in one.
- 39:34And then she told us that
- 39:35she was a recent widow.
- 39:36As her husband,
- 39:37Amal had died in a car accident.
- 39:41Each of us were shocked and speechless,
- 39:43never having encountered such
- 39:45personal tragedy in our lives.
- 39:48But Margie gracefully moved the
- 39:51introductions along. And that was Margie.
- 39:55She set the tone for who we
- 39:57would be as a cohort together.
- 39:59Real. Honest. Straight forward.
- 40:04She brought you to where she was
- 40:07emotionally and intellectually.
- 40:09Sometimes abruptly,
- 40:11but usually gently.
- 40:14In a highly professional world where
- 40:15people were ambitious and talked about work,
- 40:18life balance and keeping all
- 40:20these worlds separate.
- 40:22Margie deliberately brought them together.
- 40:25Her colleagues were colleagues
- 40:27but also friends and family.
- 40:29She talked to her neighbors about her
- 40:31work and she talked to the people she
- 40:33worked with about her neighborhood.
- 40:35She was unafraid of letting
- 40:37people from any part of her life
- 40:40see how she moved in another.
- 40:42Is what made her so amazing as a writer,
- 40:45as a speaker?
- 40:46And yes, as a graphic novelist.
- 40:49But it also made her such an
- 40:51extraordinary teacher and mentor.
- 40:54Many of you joining this memorial
- 40:56tonight will have known Margie through
- 40:58her role in the Scholars program.
- 41:00In so many ways,
- 41:01the program we have today
- 41:03is a reflection of Margie.
- 41:05She developed and taught the community
- 41:08based participatory research curriculum
- 41:10building and strengthening alliances
- 41:11with the New Haven community.
- 41:13She launched the Mentorship program,
- 41:15ensuring that they were both
- 41:18formal and informal opportunities
- 41:20for scholars to obtain and to
- 41:23learn how to provide mentorship.
- 41:25And she supported countless scholars
- 41:27in the research in the writing,
- 41:30and most importantly, in their lives.
- 41:32Her door was always open.
- 41:36I learned so much from Margie
- 41:39she always had the best advice.
- 41:42I learned how important it is
- 41:43to take a moment to stop and
- 41:46ask people how they're doing,
- 41:48especially if they have young kids.
- 41:51I learned that a phone call or knock on
- 41:54the door is always better than an email.
- 41:56Specially for feedback.
- 41:58I learned that you never show up
- 42:01to a Community event without food.
- 42:03I learned that mentorship doesn't
- 42:05just mean teaching someone how to
- 42:08design a study or write a paper.
- 42:10But instead to answer questions
- 42:12about what might be mysterious
- 42:14to someone more junior.
- 42:16Questions specific to a project,
- 42:17or questions about how to connect
- 42:19to a potential collaborator,
- 42:21or questions about the day-to-day
- 42:23of your job,
- 42:24or even questions about your
- 42:25family and your kids.
- 42:27Margie knew that being a mentor
- 42:29means showing others how you make.
- 42:32Your everything work.
- 42:34Especially what you value and prioritize.
- 42:39But what all of us uniquely learned from
- 42:41Archie was how to act bravely and honestly?
- 42:44She could have let Amal's
- 42:46tragic death define her.
- 42:48But instead she moved to a new
- 42:50city and created a circle of
- 42:51community around her and her girls.
- 42:53Unlike anyone who I have ever met.
- 42:56Everyone knew Margie and Margie
- 42:59knew everyone.
- 43:01When she was diagnosed with cancer,
- 43:02she could have retreated from her
- 43:05life at Yale at clinic and at the CSP.
- 43:08But instead she came to work.
- 43:10Often,
- 43:10biking for exercise to see
- 43:12her patients and pre
- 43:13set to meet with students and mentees.
- 43:16And she doubled down on her,
- 43:18writing her scholarship and her advocacy.
- 43:21I treasure so many memories of Margie.
- 43:25Our families together on Holidays, walks
- 43:27in the Woods sitting on her front porch.
- 43:31Our kids growing up together.
- 43:34Sharing meals.
- 43:35Long weekends at Suzanne's in
- 43:37Vermont at Leora's in Greenwich.
- 43:40Our scholar cohort still connected.
- 43:42Since that conference table,
- 43:44when she brought us together.
- 43:47I wish that everyone could share a
- 43:49friendship with a person like Margie.
- 43:52Although perhaps the most amazing thing is
- 43:55that so many other people feel this way
- 43:58about their friendship with Margie too.
- 44:01I love you Margie.
- 44:02They all miss you dearly.
- 44:16My. I'm Randy Epstein.
- 44:19I was in a writers group with Anna
- 44:22and Lisa Sanders and Pauline Chin.
- 44:24The Margie piece that I'm going to read
- 44:27started out in the draft that we read.
- 44:30It started out as a you and second person.
- 44:33It was always easier for Margie to
- 44:36write you and for us to edit her
- 44:39second person because it just put it
- 44:41out there far away from all of us.
- 44:44The New York Times editor rightly
- 44:46so made her switched I.
- 44:48It was very difficult for Margie.
- 44:50And it's difficult for me to read tonight.
- 44:54This was published March 13th,
- 44:562020 in the New York Times.
- 45:01I know bad news is coming my way
- 45:03when my oncologist walks into
- 45:05the exam room with the nurse.
- 45:07It doesn't matter that he
- 45:08introduces her as a new nurse,
- 45:10getting to know the system.
- 45:12In my more than six years of seeing my
- 45:15oncologist for metastatic colon cancer,
- 45:17he is never coming accompanied.
- 45:20He wants her in the room to
- 45:22learn how to give bad news.
- 45:24After 25 years of the pediatrician,
- 45:27I know the guidelines find a quiet room,
- 45:31give the news directly, allow for silences,
- 45:34offer tissues and glasses of water.
- 45:38Wait for the families questions and
- 45:40answer them as fully as possible.
- 45:43I've had to tell families that
- 45:45their child has a chronic disease.
- 45:47Is gravely ill, has died.
- 45:49Now my oncologist rotates the chair
- 45:52facing the computer so it faces me.
- 45:55He sits down, makes eye contact,
- 45:57glances at the box of tissues by his side.
- 46:01The nurse stands just beside him,
- 46:03shifting her weight between her feet.
- 46:06I sit on the exam table with two of
- 46:09my friends next to me holding hands.
- 46:12There are new liver lesions growing.
- 46:15My oncologist says three years
- 46:17the lesions were dormant,
- 46:18encased in calcium,
- 46:19but the cancer cells and burst
- 46:22through their calcium borders.
- 46:23They're not yet wreaking havoc.
- 46:25My laboratory values and
- 46:27vital signs are normal,
- 46:29but the new liver lesions means that
- 46:32chemotherapy is no longer working.
- 46:35I step out of my patient rolling
- 46:37into my doctor role just long enough
- 46:39to acknowledge that my doctor is
- 46:41very good at giving bad news.
- 46:43He is asking what questions I have.
- 46:46He's allowing for silence.
- 46:47Tears are falling from my eyes and he is
- 46:51silently handing me the box of tissues.
- 46:54The nurse nods her head when
- 46:55he talks about the next steps.
- 46:58You'll look into clinical trials
- 47:00and new medications.
- 47:01On Monday he will meet with his
- 47:04colleagues to discuss my case.
- 47:06They will pull up images of my scans and
- 47:09discuss radiation surgery, immunotherapy.
- 47:12Possibilities.
- 47:13The nurse nods optimistic.
- 47:17I look at the scans on my
- 47:19oncologist computer screen.
- 47:20He rolls the mouse to make
- 47:21the images bigger than life.
- 47:23He touches the light Gray ovals
- 47:25of cancer on the CT scan and
- 47:27contrast them to the darker Gray
- 47:29of the rest of the liver.
- 47:30He points to the bright yellow
- 47:32sunburst shaped spots of cancer on the
- 47:34PET scan. They stand out starkly against the
- 47:37purple Gray color of the rest of the liver.
- 47:39When I was a medical student,
- 47:42I thought those images look
- 47:43like modern art, but not today.
- 47:45Today I know those Gray ovals and yellow
- 47:48spots or my growing cancer reacting to
- 47:51the contrast fluid infused in my body.
- 47:54My oncologist cancels my chemotherapy
- 47:56for the day while I wait to
- 47:59figure out the next steps.
- 48:00I will be full of uncertainty
- 48:02and fear of the growing cancer,
- 48:04but not having chemo means my next
- 48:06days will not be full of nausea,
- 48:08diarrhea and exhaustion.
- 48:09No chemo means I will need
- 48:10to go home and get under.
- 48:12I will not need to go home
- 48:14and get under the covers.
- 48:16The day opens up loving counselors
- 48:19taught me about patience and lack
- 48:21of control and how to spend as much
- 48:23time as I can with those I love.
- 48:26I propose a hike with my friends.
- 48:28They say, of course,
- 48:29and we drive the 10 minutes
- 48:31to sleeping Giant State Park.
- 48:33One friend choose the trail.
- 48:34I do not know.
- 48:36She says it will wind along the
- 48:38River before rising up the Hill.
- 48:40The trail gives us a good view
- 48:42of the trees that fell from the
- 48:44tornado a few years earlier.
- 48:45Some trees are dead and others
- 48:48whose intricate root systems
- 48:49have grown sideways and above the
- 48:51ground seemed to be re generating.
- 48:54But do they, the day of the tornado,
- 48:56is during a non chemo week.
- 48:58I was driving my older daughter
- 49:00home through what was in our town.
- 49:02Just a bad rainstorm. I was not worried.
- 49:06I had no idea there was a serious
- 49:09storm brewing nearby.
- 49:10We rest on a fallen log in a sunny spot.
- 49:13We talk of our children and
- 49:16partners in politics and cancer.
- 49:18After our hike,
- 49:18we stop at the pharmacy to
- 49:20pick up passport photos.
- 49:22Last week before my oncologist walked
- 49:24into the exam room with the nurse,
- 49:26my teenage daughters and I had the photos
- 49:29taken because our passports were expiring.
- 49:31This week, I wonder if I will
- 49:33ever leave the country again.
- 49:35I had hoped to have more adventures.
- 49:37I'm confident that my daughters just
- 49:39on the Crest of their adulthood,
- 49:41will travel widely.
- 49:43At the cash register are extra
- 49:45large chocolate bars.
- 49:46I buy 2.
- 49:49I center my daughters are curious
- 49:50about how I had time to make dinner
- 49:53and why I'm eating dinner with them.
- 49:55They know my typical chemo day has me
- 49:57napping all afternoon and into the evening.
- 50:00Tell my daughters the news.
- 50:02I tell them I am on a chemo holiday
- 50:05because there are new cancers.
- 50:07Cell grows.
- 50:08There's knew cancerous growing liver lesions.
- 50:11The biggest collection of cells
- 50:14is 1.5 centimeters wide.
- 50:16My daughter spread their thumb and index
- 50:19finger to estimate how big that is.
- 50:21It's small,
- 50:22they say.
- 50:23We eggplant parmesan and chocolate
- 50:25in my daughters retreat to their
- 50:28rooms for homework in Netflix.
- 50:30I have known for over 6 years
- 50:32that there would
- 50:33be lesions that were escape
- 50:34the clutches of chemotherapy.
- 50:36I am sad it is now.
- 50:39They hope for more time,
- 50:40but there's no denial.
- 50:42I met the nurse who came into the exam
- 50:45room to learn how to give bad news.
- 50:48She, with her freshly pressed
- 50:49scrubs will be better prepared
- 50:51to give the bad news next time.
- 51:08Good evening, I am so
- 51:09honored to be a part of this.
- 51:11My name is Natasha Rae Ann.
- 51:12I am the director of New Haven healthy start.
- 51:15As you've heard, there are many of us
- 51:17who have learned so much from Margie.
- 51:20For me the lessons have always been
- 51:22professional as well as personal.
- 51:24I met and began working with Margie in
- 51:262005 and the Clinical Scholars Program.
- 51:29My first CBPR project that I was copii.
- 51:32I learn how to code qualitative studies
- 51:34from Margie the benefits of infant massage
- 51:37for the New Haven healthy Start families.
- 51:39I learned from Margie and circles of
- 51:42security for our staff that serve these
- 51:45families all brought to us by Margie.
- 51:48She had always either encouraged the
- 51:50tough conversations like race power and
- 51:52privilege and CPR and or in the world,
- 51:54or at a drop of a dime ready to have them.
- 51:58These are just a few of the
- 52:01many gifts from her.
- 52:02Our last in person time
- 52:05together was in June 2019.
- 52:08We spent the afternoon in a very
- 52:10small theater on Middletown
- 52:12Ave that I had no idea existed.
- 52:14Margie, did an we went to watch Rocket Man.
- 52:17We discussed the choice of actors,
- 52:19the storyline,
- 52:20the things that neither of us knew about,
- 52:23Sir Elton and we literally sang out loud
- 52:25of the of the songs along with the movie.
- 52:28There were only four of us in the
- 52:31theater so on the way home she asked
- 52:34me if I watch blackish and I cringed.
- 52:37I said absolutely not, absolutely not.
- 52:39As a rule, you know I'm not a judge.
- 52:41Judge the book by the cover person,
- 52:43however,
- 52:44just the name alone suggested to me that
- 52:45it was just another blaxploitation sitcom,
- 52:48and I've had more than my fair
- 52:49share of those not interested.
- 52:51No way she's like, oh,
- 52:52it is definitely not that you
- 52:54would really enjoy it, Natasha.
- 52:56I'm telling you, you have to watch it.
- 52:58You have to watch it.
- 52:59And you know,
- 53:00shoot me a text when you watch it.
- 53:02We've got to talk about it.
- 53:04So on the way home we talked more about
- 53:07the negative stereotypes of black
- 53:09families in the media and the impact
- 53:11of it and how it's perpetuate it.
- 53:13You know still talking shop during
- 53:15girls day out and when I drop Margie off
- 53:17I told her that I would check it out.
- 53:20It took me about three weeks to finally
- 53:22watch an episode and of course she was right.
- 53:24We began texting about certain episodes,
- 53:26checking into see if one or the
- 53:28other cop this weeks episode.
- 53:30It was an awesome thing and I just
- 53:32think about how lucky I was to have
- 53:34someone who knew me well enough
- 53:36and that I trust it to bring me to
- 53:39the other side about an all black
- 53:41show with an all black cast.
- 53:43Margie and Blackish will always go
- 53:45hand in hand for me and it's very dear to me.
- 53:48I shared this abbreviated version
- 53:50in a very very small
- 53:52group of our colleagues a few months ago,
- 53:54but up until that point I had
- 53:56held that memory as a special
- 53:58thing between margin me.
- 54:00Tonight I am happy to have
- 54:03shared this all with you.
- 54:05I miss her cell. Thank you.
- 54:14Thank you Natasha.
- 54:17Certainly empathize with missing
- 54:18Margie but I have to tell you tonight
- 54:21have been such a wonderful tribute.
- 54:24It's really been terrific to hear
- 54:26from all of the colleagues and
- 54:29friends of Margie's and kind of
- 54:32distributed keep going on forever.
- 54:34Of course we can try one more one
- 54:37brief stories to share now, but.
- 54:40To seeing on this list of participants,
- 54:43all the people across the country
- 54:45who have logged on tonight to
- 54:47watch and share with us really is a
- 54:50wonderful reminder that in a way,
- 54:52this tribute will continue forever.
- 54:54Through all them are just all of us.
- 54:58So this past fall I visited
- 55:01Margie in the hospital.
- 55:04She had already been there a few
- 55:06days and while she was feeling
- 55:07a little bit better overall,
- 55:09the hospital never let you sleep.
- 55:10She was still recovering so she
- 55:12was still still a bit tired.
- 55:14But she was also bored and she wanted
- 55:17the company so generic small talk
- 55:19ensued until she suddenly remembered
- 55:21something that she had been wanting
- 55:23to talk to me about something
- 55:24that had been driving her crazy.
- 55:26She sits up suddenly energized,
- 55:28leaving in towards me.
- 55:29She had been thinking about our hospitals,
- 55:32new clinic,
- 55:32a partnership with community
- 55:34health centers in the area.
- 55:36It had been under construction
- 55:37for the past year.
- 55:39Margin grew more animated,
- 55:40thinking aloud about how this new
- 55:42physical clinic building was an
- 55:44opportunity to improve engagement
- 55:46between the hospital and the community,
- 55:48and she feared that opportunity
- 55:50might be slipping away.
- 55:51The location of the clinic was
- 55:53remote for many of the neighborhoods
- 55:55that it was supposed to be serving.
- 55:58Marta was worried about this.
- 56:01She spoke about how important it was
- 56:03to get the community input for all
- 56:05aspects of designing the new clinic building,
- 56:08including.
- 56:08The actual design of the exterior
- 56:11and the inside, among other things.
- 56:14She had been advocating sometimes
- 56:16from her hospital bed to ensure
- 56:19that New Haven based artists.
- 56:21Work with grace the walls,
- 56:22because after all,
- 56:23when people entered this new clinic,
- 56:25what would they see when they
- 56:27see a reflection of themselves
- 56:29of their own communities?
- 56:30She's been exploring this issue.
- 56:32They felt as though she been
- 56:34getting the run run around.
- 56:36She had called hospital administrators
- 56:37to ask about who is purchasing the art,
- 56:40and she was told that they have a
- 56:43great lineup of standard artists
- 56:44who are located in California
- 56:46on the West Coast who were great
- 56:49at turning out BC beach scenes.
- 56:51Generic landscapes etc.
- 56:52But as recently as bad day.
- 56:54Margie had still been calling
- 56:56people pleading to the hospital to
- 56:58turn their purchasing directions
- 57:00direction back into New Haven.
- 57:02Six months later after Margie had
- 57:04died I was sitting there in the
- 57:07parking lot of the bright and shiny
- 57:10new clinic building for the first time.
- 57:13I hadn't thought about that conversation
- 57:15with Margie for quite awhile.
- 57:17I felt glum realizing that
- 57:19this initiative would probably
- 57:21falling through the cracks.
- 57:22We're marching,
- 57:23step back from her work and from her
- 57:25advocacy I was kind of dreading
- 57:27entering the clinic building,
- 57:28knowing that Margie wouldn't be there.
- 57:30I trudged across the parking lot,
- 57:32but as I walked through the waiting room,
- 57:34I did a double take.
- 57:36That sound can we share?
- 57:38Turns out I've been wrong about margin,
- 57:40that being there in the building with us.
- 57:43The walls were decorated with beautiful
- 57:45work by New Haven based artists.
- 57:47And is Margie would say love that.
- 57:55Thanks so much. Kerry and presenters.
- 57:57Would you put your video
- 58:00cameras back on for a moment?
- 58:03So yeah, thank you.
- 58:05Everybody who read and
- 58:07shared wonderful stories.
- 58:08Remembering Margie and her impact tonight.
- 58:11Thank you to everybody in the audience who
- 58:14tuned in to remember and celebrate with us.
- 58:18This category. Defining physician,
- 58:20writer, artist and activist.
- 58:22The impactful, beautiful, work,
- 58:24friendship and legacy of our beautiful,
- 58:27beautiful, beloved colleague and friend,
- 58:29Doctor Marjorie S Rosenthal.
- 58:32Thanks everybody, goodnight.