LEADERSHIP LOUISVILLE: A YEAR OF EXPERIENCING
THE UNEXPECTED
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articipation in Leadership Louisville is typically a
rite of passage for the President-Elect of GLMS. The
Leadership Louisville program is designed to educate
and prepare participants for their role as community
leaders. Members of the class, of all cultures and
backgrounds, are selected from throughout the city,
from different neighborhoods, education, training and
job experiences.
At first blush, I was taken aback as those of us in health
care, particularly physicians, tend to gravitate and participate
in groups or meetings with other providers. How often had I
participated in activities outside my ken? Also, I freely admitted
my concern about the time commitment. I would need to be
out of my office two full days in August and then one full day
each month through the following May. As I am in solo practice,
this would necessitate coverage which might be difficult, as my
colleagues are all busy with their own patients. I forged ahead in
spite of these concerns, and thus, I want to share some highlights
from the “year of experiencing the unexpected.”
Our inaugural Leadership Louisville retreat was at the
Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel in Lexington, Ky. We participated
in several team building exercises such as the “marshmallow
challenge,” which forced us to build something out of spaghetti
and marshmallows. Our team actually won because our structure
didn’t fall over! The second day was an activity called SlMSOC
or “Simulated Society,” a social equivalency exercise. Because
I am sworn to the “SlMSOC Code of Silence,” I cannot reveal
what the activity specifically entailed, but I recall at the time I
was not very enamored. I came away somewhat irritated which
I learned later was exactly the intended and expected result. The
purpose, I now see, was to make us uncomfortable; to force us to
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
begin seeing situations differently. Had it not been for Dr. Bob
Couch’s encouragement to stick with it, I might have dropped
out, missing what turned out to be an unbelievable, interesting
and enjoyable ride with my classmates.
Following our opening retreat, our next month was entitled
“Discovering Louisville.” We learned about the history of
Louisville neighborhoods from Dr. Tom Owen, a former city
councilman and an archivist at the University of Louisville. In
small groups, we explored different areas of the city to discover
specific neighborhoods, businesses and social histories. My
group explored the neighborhoods around Churchill Downs
and Iroquois Park. Following a debrief, Joshua Poe, a local urban
design consultant, gave a lecture about redlining. I listened with
disbelief about this discriminatory practice of “fencing off ”
metropolitan districts, allowing banks to avoid investments
based on community demographics; in other words, the active
practice of financial and racial segregation. This explains how our
city, and many others, became segregated. The redlining maps of
Louisville from the 1930’s and 40’s that Mr. Poe uncovered were
startling and disturbing.
Other highlights from the year included a visit to the UPS
World Port on our “Fueling the Economic Engine Day.” The
technology UPS has at the World Port is both prescient and
innovative. During our “Caring for Our Own Day” visiting
nonprofit organizations, I toured the Family Community Clinic
in their new facility in the old St. Joseph school. The clinic
provides care for numerous patients without access to health
care. (Interestingly, several of these patients I ultimately took care
of via Surgery on Sunday Louisville.)
Other significant sessions during the year included visiting
Seneca High School and hearing from Marty Pollio, the