Dr. Rush believed physicians had a responsibility not only to heal disease but also to improve society itself. I love that philosophy.

His passion for medical education helped shape generations of American physicians, and his influence continues today.

Philadelphia also gave birth to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, America’s oldest private medical society, founded in 1787.

For nearly two and a half centuries, it has advanced science, ethics, education, and patient care. I am deeply honored to be a Fellow of this remarkable institution.

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Philadelphia became a world leader in surgery, anesthesia, pathology, neurology, pediatrics, transplantation, trauma care, and, of course, cardiovascular medicine.

Pioneers such as Samuel D. Gross, Thomas Dent Mütter, John H. Gibbon Jr., along with many other innovators throughout the city’s academic medical centers, including my former professor Jonathan E. Rhodes at Penn and today my colleague and partner Dr. Joseph E. Bavaria at Jefferson, helped transform medicine from an art into a science.

Today, institutions such as Thomas Jefferson University, Penn Medicine, Temple University, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and many others continue that extraordinary tradition of innovation, research, education, and compassionate patient care inspired by these great leaders.

As someone privileged to perform heart surgery at the Bruce and Robbi Toll Heart and Vascular Institute at Jefferson Health, I often think about the physicians who walked these same streets 200 and even 250 years ago.

The instruments have changed.

The technology has changed.

The operating rooms would be almost unrecognizable to them.

But one thing has never changed.

The calling to ease suffering, comfort families, push the boundaries of science, and above all else, care for another human being during their most vulnerable moments.

As America celebrates 250 years of freedom, we should also celebrate 250 years of medical innovation that has saved countless millions of lives.

And it all began right here in my hometown of Philadelphia.

I’m Dr. Raymond Singer. Remember, every heartbeat tells a story. Make yours a great one.

Interested in my book? You can buy it on Amazon!

(𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.)