An old man walked up a shore littered with thousands of starfish, beached and dying after a storm.

A young man was picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean.

“Why do you bother?” the old man scoffed. “You’re not saving enough to make a difference.”

The young man picked up another starfish and sent it spinning back to the water.

“Made a difference to that one,” he said.

You make a difference, every day.

An excerpt from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley

Making a Difference

Palm Beach County Medical Society Services

Annual Giving Campaign

A Special MessageThe challenges facing the healthcare community have never been greater. Even with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, there are still people who are unable to afford or access health care. It is estimated that 268,136 or 26.3 % of Palm Beach County resi-dents are uninsured

The results of the recent Physician Census reveal an alarming need for more physicians to care for our growing population. A startling 64,578 Palm Beach County residents have Type 2 Diabetes, and 124,040 are obese.

The not-for-profit community was hard hit by the economic down turn, and recovery takes time. Support for the Annual Giving Fund is not just important, it is critical for the continu-ation of programs, to address emerging needs and take advantage of promising opportu-nities that arise during the year.

Palm Beach County Medical Society Services is a 501 c.3 organization dedicated to Making a Difference in HealthCare in Palm Beach County. The programs and services provide an opportunity for physicians and our community partners who share medicine’s goals to improve health care and make a substantial difference in our quality of life.

Our Fundamental Goals Include• Providing access to health care and making it available to more people• Enhancing prevention and wellness• Improving patient safety and quality of care• Strengthening the viability of our physician workforce and preparing the next generation of physicians

Making A Difference In Health Care The 2014 Annual Giving Campaign donations are used to support programs that are “Making A Difference” in shaping a healthier future of medicine. These programs include Project Access, which provides assistance in navigating the complex health care system and provides free care to qualified low income residents; preparing the next generation of physicians through scholarship and education programs; ensuring our community is pre-pared for disasters and emergencies through HERC ( Health Care Emergency Response Coalition) and MRC (Medical Reserve Corp); supporting innovative programs such as the Palm Beach Diabetes Initiative and Community Call to Action and the Future of Medicine Initiative and Summit.

IMPACT• Over $10.2 million dollars in charitable care provided by 682 physicians, and healthcare providers to over 8,500 individuals • For every dollar Project Access spends on program expenses, $9 is provided in charitable care• Palm Beach County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) has a cadre of 1,383 volunteers who donate their time and expertise to promote healthy living and prepare for and respond to emergencies.• Over 2,500 physicians, healthcare providers, and community volunteers are engaged in PBCMS Services Programs• The Health Emergency Response Coalition ( HERC) has been nationally recognized as a model program by National Association County Health Association• The Future of Medicine Initiative has established innovative initiatives including the Triple Aim Diabetes Program which is resulting in improved outcomes for patients with Type 2 Diabetes while lowering the cost of care and improving patient satisfaction.

Whether it is giving free medical care to struggling families in Palm Beach County or to poverty-stricken residents of a distant Third World nation, many local doctors are bringing their healing touches to those in need without asking for anything in return.

They work late at night, on weekends, and holidays, often without public recognition. They work under stressful conditions, that at times require making life and death decisions. And, they increasingly work without receiving compensation.

Physicians know that our profession’s unprecedented challenges require them to be much more than just healers. In response, more and more doctors are stepping up to become leaders who serve in top positions at hospitals, medical schools, and charitable organizations across Palm Beach County.

All doctors deserve credit for their daily contributions to making our county healthier, but some go above and beyond the call of duty in our backyard as well as distant lands across the ocean. Their contributions are not only lasting, but literally life-changing for their patients as well as their staffs and colleagues.

These physicians have devoted countless hours and resources to enhancing the programs overseen by Palm Beach County Medical Society Services: Triple Aim Initiative, Project Access, Future of Medicine, Medical Reserves Corps, and Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition (HERC). Along the way, they have championed efforts to develop innovative and collaborative solutions to meet the health care challenges of our community and Palm Beach County is fortunate to have them.

This is the first in an ongoing series of stories about physicians who are making a difference. In collaboration with FAU Medical Students in the CARE program, we will be profiling doctors and their philanthropic endeavors. Each will be asked to answer three questions about the role of volunteer service in medicine:

Why is it important to you to give back to our community through your volunteer work at PBCMS and many other organizations?

What would happen to medicine, in general, if physicians like you weren’t around to volunteer their services for the greater good of the community?

How do we as a community inspire more physicians to give back and donate their time and services?

As a telling indication of the devotion to their profession, the answers from these first five physicians were strikingly similar.

Physicians Making A Difference Giving Back to Improve Our Community’s Health

By Leon Fooksman

G. Richard Cohen, M.D.

Roger Duncan, M.D.

Roger Duncan, M.D.

Dr. Duncan has been a medical leader since 1980, coordinating or participating in more than 80 health education and leadership conferences. He is currently board president of the T. Leroy Jefferson Medical Society, whose core objective is to provide health education and speakers on health issues, as well as conduct medical screenings to school children and the minority community. Dr. Duncan said his parents instilled in him the importance of volunteering.

He explained: “My parents always reinforced the old adage that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants. Every generation elevates its knowledge, standing and stature because of those individuals who left a legacy for us to build upon. My parents protested, marched and suffered in order to provide me, my siblings and my generation with the opportunities that we have been afforded. I would not have been fortunate to attend Yale Medical School were it not for the consciousness, selfless actions of those with vision and dedication to think of the next generation. I have pride in knowing that through dozens of community-wide health fairs, coordinating hundreds of classroom lectures, a Good Samaritan Medical Center Internship program for eighth graders, and an Annual Healthcare and Science Career Symposium I have had impact on tens of thousands of people in Palm Beach County.”

To get more doctors to volunteer their time, they need to know how fulfilling it is to give back, Dr. Duncan said.

He said: “Physician career satisfaction continues to decrease with productivity pressures, malpractice claims, and decreasing insurance company reimbursements. Volunteering of one's time, expertise and knowledge is very fulfilling. It brings us back to why most of us went into medicine: to help others. By imparting knowledge and care to patients in true need, about their health conditions, healthy lifestyles, and to consider the full spectrum of healthcare and science careers for their future is very rewarding. We, the providers, are the party most truly enriched.

“Without this altruistic spirit, millions of people in our country and tens of thousands in Palm Beach County alone would continue to be medically underserved.”

How do we as a community inspire more physicians to give back?

Dr. Duncan explained: “It starts at home. We can make simple changes in our lives that will have an impact on the lives of others and pay back dividends for generations to come. As long as I can remember, my parents were involved in the community and stressed the importance of community service. From an early age, my brother, sisters and I learned by example. In college, I would organize medical school tours, community events and took leadership roles in a variety of organizations like Beta Beta Beta Honor Society, Mu Delta Phi, The Society of Black Engineers and Scientists, and the Harvard University Health Professions Program. For me, knowing that the seeds that I am planting in minds of our youth will grow to produce rich and abundant fruit in the future is immensely rewarding!”

“I would encourage my colleagues to find a cause that they feel passionate and give back by encouraging their friends and families to participate. If we make community service a part of our everyday lives, we are not only giving back to the community in which we live, but we are also teaching and preparing the next generation to become involved.”

G. Richard Cohen, M.D.

A pioneering LASIK surgeon, Dr. Cohen has long been active in Project Access, a program of the Palm Beach County Medical Society Services, funded by United Way of Palm Beach County and other organizations and private funders, that provides free care for indigent patients.

Ivy Faske, M.D.

This year, through the program, Dr. Cohen performed a cornea transplant procedure as part of a three-county effort to restore the eyesight of 35-year-old chef from Boynton Beach. Not only was Dr. Cohen’s work free of charge, but so were all the other services needed to give the patient the chance to see properly. The cornea was donated by Florida Lions Eye Bank in Miami. South Palm Ambulatory Surgery Center in Boca Raton provided its facility free of charge. And an anesthesiologist from Sheridan Healthcare in Sunrise donated the time, as well.

In all, more than $7,000 in free care was donated for the patient’s surgery.

For Dr. Cohen, the volunteer care was a regular part of being an ophthalmologist. He said: “My family and I have lived a blessed and fantastic life in Palm Beach County since 1984. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever envision a life like this and being able to practice medicine the way I want in the best place in the world. I was raised to always give back to the community, especially to those who are not as fortunate as I am. To help another person is the reason I went into medicine.”

He said he can’t envision the practice of medicine without volunteer care. “I feel that physicians will always volunteer their services when needed. I cannot imagine a time when this would not happen. We went into medicine to help others,” he said.Physicians, he said, will give back even more if the community recognizes their hard work.

“I believe that the local hospitals and surgery centers should encourage more physicians to volunteer their time and skills to help others. By highlighting those physicians’ efforts, it may motivate others to follow,” he said.

Ivy Faske, M.D.

Dr. Faske is a second-generation native Floridian, born and raised in Miami. Involved in organized medicine since medical school, she has been a member of the Palm Beach County Medical Society and the Palm Beach County Pediatric Society since 1987. In addition, she has served on the CME Committee of Intracoastal Health Systems and St. Mary’s Hospital, and has been a member of the Palm Beach County Juvenile Justice Board and Council, as well as a board member of Easter Seals of Florida. Dr. Faske is the co-founder of Project Access, a program of Palm Beach County Medical Society Services giving the uninsured access to care.

Dr. Faske said she volunteers because “without volunteers, the many deserving charities, religious organizations and shelters would be left without the help they so desperately need. As a pediatrician, I see that parents who volunteer their valuable time and resources inspire their growing children to do the same. So, as with any healthy habit, leading by example as a parent is one of the most important gifts a child can receive.”

The practice of medicine is a time-honored and respected profession, she said. By giving back, physicians can show the community their true values. Dr. Faske said: “The past few decades have seen so many changes in the way doctors in this country are perceived and have to practice, that some of that respect is being lost. I believe that by volunteering our time and resources we are able to expose members of our community to what is really in the heart of all physicians—removing many of the obstacles that many people meet as they try to gain access to medical care.”

If the community makes it easier for doctors to volunteer, many more physicians will find the time for giving back, she said.

“When physicians volunteer for various clinics or organizations they reconnect to the feelings they had when they first started their medical training. By trying to find easy ways to fit volunteering into their crowded schedule we can hopefully get more people to volunteer,” Dr. Faske said.

Faustino Gonzalez, M.D.

Jose Francisco Arrascue, M.D.

Leon Fooksman is a writer for Palm Beach County Medical

Society who specializes in content and social media marketing

for medical organizations. He can be reached at leon@

digitalstoryline.com or on Twitter at @compellingstory.

Jose Francisco Arrascue, M.D.

A native of Peru, Dr. “Paco” Arrascue has been active in organized medicine for more than 25 years. He has been elected by his peers to serve as President of the Medical Staff at JFK Medical Center (2 terms) and Bethesda Memorial Hospital. Among his many honors: 2005 Presidents Award for “Physician Leadership” from the Palm Beach County Medical Society, which he was president of in 2007-2008. Dr. Arrascue is the founder of the Future of Medicine and Triple Aim initiatives that are working to improve health care in Palm Beach County.

Dr. Arrascue explained why it’s important for him to give back: “It's meaningful and enjoyable for me to work on challenging projects that may benefit many patients and accomplish the goals of better care and better health for our communities.”

What would happen to medicine if physicians like you weren’t around to volunteer? He said: “A vital voice and service would be lost. Physicians, due to their extensive education and training, are in a unique position to make an irreplaceable contribution to our communities.”

Our community could inspire more physicians to donate their time “by choosing projects worthy of their time and effort, and by recognizing and acknowledging their successes,” he added.

Faustino Gonzalez, M.D.

Joining Hospice of Palm Beach County in 2001 as the Associate Medical Director, Dr. Faustino Gonzalez now serves as Vice President of Medical Affairs and manages 29 doctors. There, he’s known for putting patients and families at ease, taking the time to sit and listen to everything patients and family members say.

His work in the community has included helping to found the nonprofit Clinics Can Help as well as assisting those impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Gonzalez said giving back should be a core value for those in the medical profession. “I work for an institution -- TrustBridge Health -- that provides services to people without insurance and the underserved. Helping others, whether they can afford it or not, is at the core of what we do. Those of us who are drawn to health care are, for the most part, people who care and want to help others. We are also people who take charge; we lead. It is the combination of these factors that drive many of us to volunteer. We want to help. Volunteering is a personal choice. It is a rewarding experience that enhances a person’s sense of self-worth. More importantly, however, it is an investment in the welfare of the larger society. What we do for others comes back to us several times fold in ways we may not always readily perceive.”

If physicians didn’t contribute back to our community, that would strain the medical system, he added. “While we live in one of the greatest countries in the world, there are many people who have no access to health care. If physicians were not available to provide free services, many of the uninsured would end up in hospitals. Many of these people are working people who cannot afford insurance. It would lead to a significantly greater strain on the system.”

As for getting more physicians involved, Dr. Gonzalez suggested the following ideas: “I think testimonials from the volunteers themselves about why they do it. Also, give a human face to those who benefit from the work of volunteers. Highlight the success stories. Most of those who volunteer find that the work is its own reward, but everyone wants recognition. Physicians are competitive by nature. They will emulate others who are deemed successful and who are seen as leaders.”

Making A Difference by GIVINGAnnual PBCMSS Campaign

Starfish Giving LevelsDiamond Starfish – Cumulative Giving of $10,000 and AboveTitanium Starfish – $2,500- $4,999Platinum Starfish – $1,000-$2,499Gold Starfish – $500-$999Silver Starfish – $250-$499Bronze Starfish – $100-$249Contributing Starfish – Gifts up to $99All gifts of $1,000 or more annually qualify for the Leadership Circle

Major Donor Giving OpportunitiesMajor donors to Palm Beach County Medical Society Services include the Hippocrates Society, 1919 Society, as well as the Benefactor Society. The Palm Beach County Medical Society Services donation program acknowledges the importance of committed donors by recognizing individuals who donate $10,000 or more. Through a combination of service and financial support these societies assure that PBCMS can provide quality services.

Hippocrates SocietyComprised of Medical Hospital Staffs who contribute $10,000 or more annualy, and serve a hands-on role in improving the health of our community as members of the 2014 Society.• Bethesda Health Medical Staff• Boca Raton Regional Hospital Medical Staff• Delray Medical Center Medical Staff• JFK Medical Center Medical Staff• Wellington Regional Medical Center Medical Staff• Jupiter Medical Center Medical Staff

1919 SocietyThe 1919 Society is comprised of PBCMS physicians who contribute a minimum of $10,000 over a five year period while demonstrating a long term commitment to their patients and our community.• Jose F. Arrascue, MD• Jeffrey Berman, MD• Michael T.B. Dennis, MD• Malcolm Dorman, MD• J. John Goodman, MD & Judy Goodman, Esq.• Howard Allen Green, MD• Beth-Ann Lesnikoski, MD • Alan Barth Pillersdorf, MD• Brent M. Schillinger, MD• Ida Sebastian, MD• Ronald S. Zelnick, MD

Benefactor SocietyComprised of philanthropists, individuals, corporations and businesses who contribute $10,000 or more annually to ensure our success. • TrustBridge Health • Rendina Healthcare Real Estate

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Making a Difference by GIVINGAnnual PBCMSS Campaign

Starfish Giving LevelsPlease indicate your donation amount____ _ Diamond Starfish – Cumulative Giving of $10,000 and Above _____ Silver Starfish – $250-$499_____ Titanium Starfish – $2,500- $4,999 _____ Bronze Starfish – $100-$249_____ Gold Starfish – $500-$999 _____ Contributing Starfish – Gifts up to $99_____ Platinum Starfish – $1,000-$2,499 $ _____________________ Other Amount All gifts of $1,000 or more annually qualify for the Leadership Circle

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