The 10 Best Feel-Good Health Stories of 2016
Tragedies, scandals and other forms of bad news can usually take up much of the front pages. However it's important to take a look at some of the good news too! In 2016 there was plenty of positive and inspiring healthcare stories, here's our top 10!
1) Former patient donates first paycheck to current patients
Lawrence Clark Jr donated $500, all of his first month's earnings along with two bags of toys to the patients of La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago. Mr Clark has cerebral palsy and received care at the hospital during childhood.
2) Mother fulfils lifelong dream
Terresa Miller, a 46 year old mother of three always dreamed of becoming a physician, however she didn't want to attend university while raising children. Now that her children have grown up, Ms Miller enrolled at Oklahoma State University to focus on paediatrics. Her 23 year old son Cody is one of her classmates!
3) Last medical school to use live animals for training ends the practice
Although every other medical school has stopped using animals to teach students, the University of Tennessee held out. That was until 2016 when they finally ended the practice of live animal training.
4) 68 years and counting
Ninety-year-old Walter Lawrence Jr made headlines in 2016. After 68 years of practice in the healthcare industry, he is still going strong. He first went to medical school during World War II, 68 years ago.
5) Legally blind man to graduate from medical school
Jeffrey Gazzara not only needed to overcome the challenging medical school which he attended, he also needed to overcome being legally blind. Mr Gazzara suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal disorder that left him legally blind.
6) Patient gets hospital's slogan tattooed on chest
56-year-old Brian Andrianos suffers with heart problems and diabetes and is a regular patient at New York's Crouse Hospital. His physician one day joked that he should get a hospital-related tattoo because of his frequent visits, well Mr Andrianos took his words to heart.
7) Unhealthy "Healthy"
The cast of musical Dreamgirls performed for patients at VCU Medical Center patients, making 'a dream come true' for at least one of the audience.
8) Survivor celebration event
Hundreds of local survivors who battled cancer at New York's Maimondes Medical Center were recognised during a survivors celebration day.
9) Doctor donates kidney to save her patient's son
Ester Kwok, a doctor through the University HealthCare Alliance didn't believe in organ donation due to her religious convictions. But learning that her patient's son and one of her staff members needed new kidneys, she reconsidered and joined the National Kidney Registry.
10) Medical bills waived after nightclub shooting
On 12th June, a gunman entered Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Neither of the 2 local hospitals billed survivors, sparing them a combined $5.5 million in medical costs.
Content provided by Becker's Hospital Review