Scapels, bandages and stethoscopes are just a few of the tools doctors may use throughout their career. They may not be as fancy as a batmobile or web shooters, but they are used daily to save the lives of friends, family members and strangers. In recognition of National Doctors’ Day, March 30, Southeast Georgia Health System celebrated the lab-coat wearing superheroes who tirelessly work to ensure we can have a healthier tomorrow. The week-long celebration included specialty coffee carts by Wake Up Coffee, car washes by Russell's Exclusive Detailing Service, chair massages By Salt Air Massage, sweet treats/baked goods from Volunteer Services and a breakfast and luncheon hosted by the Health System. In addition to these activites, charitable donations were also made on their behalf.

“I’m very grateful that even with a wide variety of specialties, the physicians at Southeast Georgia Health System share one thing in common: their dedication to healing,” said Scott Raynes, MBA, MA, president and CEO of Southeast Georgia Health System. “This Doctors’ Day, we celebrate our real-life heroes who always do their best to keep us healthy. And I encourage the community to join me in thanking our medical staff for the compassion and fearless dedication they provide day in and day out.”

To honor the Brunswick Campus medical staff, the Health System made a $2,500 donation to Safe Harbor Children’s Center. This community-based center serves children, from birth to age 18, who have been removed from dangerous situations as a result of abuse, neglect or abandonment. As a long-term residential shelter, the Center provides nurturing care, medical and dental services, academic tutoring, vocational guidance, recreational opportunities, and counseling and therapeutic services.

The Camden Campus medical staff were similarly honored through a $2,500 donation to the Coastal Counseling Center. Established in 2004, the Center provides counseling services to people in the community who were either uninsured, under-insured or whose financial situation might prevent them from seeking help. Services include counseling for day to day struggles, relationships, addiction, domestic violence and anger management.

Initiated in Winder, Georgia in 1993 by Eudora Brown Almond, wife of physician Charles B. Almond, MD, Doctors’ Day honors physicians, their work, and their contributions to society and the communities they serve. Eudora encouraged the community to mail greeting cards and place red carnations, the symbolic flower for Doctors’ Day, on the graves of deceased doctors. She chose March 30 because it was the date of the first administration of ether anesthesia for surgery in 1842 by Crawford W. Long, MD. President George Bush officially designated March 30 as National Doctors’ Day in 1990.