As I write my column, I am distracted by a virtual slide show projected in my brain’s limbic system.  Many memories and experiences make me realize that my journey to becoming a magazine founder and publisher is not random.

As a child and teen, I helped Hispanic Outlook’s founder organize and run educational trips to Madrid where I met three siblings, the youngest of which convinced his father to buy a DeLorean sports car.  I was probably one of the first teenagers in the U.S. to ride in the iconic car featured in the movie “Back to the Future.”

Recently, Alec Baldwin starred as John DeLorean in the documentary “Framing John DeLorean” (featured in this issue), which brings me to memories of attending meetings with Mr. Baldwin at the East Hampton Daycare (he was on the board of directors, and I served as a medical advisor).

While I started my career as a pediatrician caring for the children of the privileged on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, I fell in love with rural eastern Long Island and its very medically and socially vulnerable Patient population.  It was there I learned a lot about government-subsidized health insurance, including “Facilitated Enrollment” programs, capitation, closed panels, HEDIS measures and a whole lot of other “alphabet soup” acronyms.

In 2006, I moved to rural North-Central Pennsylvania where I cared for a different kind of poverty-stricken Patient population.  Many of my poorest Patients had parents who relied on SSI.  It was not unusual to have a family of five to six where ALL household members received a disability stipend.   Some may call this fraud, but what I have observed is it’s virtually impossible to survive in rural communities without doing something on the fringe of legal.

Someday I would like to tap filmmakers I know to create a documentary about real Physicians caring for their Patients.  For now, I will have to settle for writing about my experiences and highlighting the experiences of others.  I look forward to seeing both “Framing John DeLorean” and this issue’s other featured film “Do No Harm,” which delves into the rise in Physician suicide.

This issue features Dr. Ileana Leyva who finds joy in caring for the terminally ill—ironic considering many Physicians report being “burnt out” or disillusioned.  Also featured this month is Hispanic Outlook Editor Emeritus Mary Ann Cooper’s article about looming Physician shortages and the mumbo-jumbo “alphabet soup” that the practice of Medicine has become all about, and Dr. Rebekah Bernard who writes about media bias against Physicians and is the author of the book “How to be a Rock Star Doctor” (http://www.rockstardoctorbook.com/).

“The Six Degrees of Separation” concept posits that any two people on Earth are linked by six or fewer acquaintances.  I sometimes feel like I have been cast as the well-connected medical version of Kevin Bacon.  I will be sharing my “connectedness” in future issues to make sure that Patients continue to be well taken care of and Physician voices are heard. 3