As the president of Locum Tenens Partners, I believe that one of my biggest goals is to do more than build a successful medical staffing business. I strive every day to build a thriving medical staffing community—a gift I first experienced as a child growing up on our family farm. We created community wherever we could find it. We were fortunate enough to be surrounded by a wonderful crew of neighbors who were connected in ways that went beyond our close proximity. We helped each other, cared for one another and, in general, just did life together.
Hot Ohio summers will leave a lasting impression on anyone. However, for me, what I'll always remember most about those endless, scorching days was that whenever we'd pull out our small tractor to bale hay, several of our neighbors would just "show up," ready to help. No phone calls, no texts, and no social media requests—everyone just appeared, and it was amazing. My whole family was always moved seeing everyone arrive, ready to sweat it out, side-by-side with my father, brother, and me as we put up hay to sustain our cattle throughout the winter.
Another neighbor I remember well on our gravel road, Mr. Chester, did not have indoor plumbing. What he did have, however, was the very best blackberry patch in town. Mr. Chester would always let my sisters, brother, and me pick all the blackberries we wanted because he knew that before the sun set, my mother would bake him a delicious blackberry cobbler as a small token of gratitude for treating her children.
Over 40 years ago on a stormy June night, a tornado ripped through our peaceful little community, shaking up all of its residents. Mr. Rick lived about a half mile from our farm, and his trailer was flipped over with him sleeping inside. Thankfully, he was not injured. In the middle of that stormy night, my parents helped him move all of his belongings they could find into an outbuilding on our farm. Mr. Rick spent the rest of the night with us and was able to get things settled over the next few days. Shortly after that summer, Mr. Rick moved away, but every June he would show up at our front door with a gift basket or gift card to thank my parents for their act of kindness during that storm.
Locum Tenens Partners: Let's Build a Thriving Medical Staffing Community Together
These are some of my favorite memories about living in a tight-knit community. Today, we have technology like email, cell phones, and social media that allow us to stay connected in ways previously unimaginable. Still, the current ease of long-distance connectivity can, at times, make it difficult to attain that true spirit of community I experienced as a kid. That's why at Locum Tenens Partners, we foster an authentic culture of community within our business. We make it our mission to partner with healthcare professionals across every specialty to deliver that same sense of community to our busy lives. Whether it's a business-as-usual kind of day or an unexpected, all-hands-on-deck professional storm, we strive to be available at all times to offer support to our medical professionals.
We invite you to join the LT Partners community. I would love to hear your story about your community, either modern day or from years past. Please send your stories to cshumard@myltpartners.com, or connect with our team to do locum tenens life together.
