I've had the pleasure of knowing Dick Davidson since he arrived at the American Hospital Association in 1991 after 21 years leading MHA. Even then he had already begun planting the seeds of mentorship that would populate our field with leaders. And in 16 years at AHA he did the same thing ... by example, by personality, by intelligence ... guiding his charges to the future that we would help shape and steward. During this sad, sad week for everyone who knew Dick, we were reminded once again of how much he loved to lead, loved to cut through the acronyms and bureaucracy and red tape to make the solution to any challenge simple: does it make things better for the patient? He started as a patient, recruited from his hospital bed in 1965 by the Maryland-DC-Delaware Hospital Association to run their education programs. Meeting from his bed with the hospital CEO, who was on the search committee, Dick said "I don't know anything about hospitals except everything you do here seems stupid, and it just doesn't make any sense." Fortunately for our field, the CEO said "You're the kind of guy we need."

 

He was, indeed, the kind of guy we needed. The kind of guy whose loyalty and commitment made a difference - that's one reason MHA has had only three CEOs, and in AHA's 118-year history Dick's tenure was the longest. For 42 years he dedicated his career to helping hospitals be better at what they do by focusing on the patient. But he dedicated his life to his wonderful wife Janet - September will mark their 59th anniversary - and their three sons and grandchildren. It's so rare to meet people like Dick and Janet, much less spend decades with them ... but that was the norm when you became one of their many close friends.