GETTING TO KNOW A BHC DOCTOR
Kate Grossman, MD Critical Care and Pulmonology
I
’m originally from New York and have been with Boone Health for five years. I’m married with two daughters, one who is 14 years old and another who is almost 4.
Why did you get into the health care field? I always wanted to be a doctor. When I was little, my brothers would walk to our neighborhood corner stores to get candy, and I would go next door to the pharmacy to buy gauze and Ace wraps for my injured dolls. What interested you in your particular specialty? It took me a while to decide on my specialty. I am currently quadruple-boarded in adult pulmonary and critical care medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics (though I no longer practice). I care for pulmonary patients in my outpatient practice at Boone Pulmonary Medicine and see hospitalized patients as a pulmonary consult. I work in the intensive care unit as an intensivist. I love the mix of patients I see. I love caring for inpatients in life-and-death situations and helping both the patients and their loved ones during a critical time. I love helping to diagnose infections and cancers in the least invasive ways possible. I also love the relationships with my clinic patients with chronic medical problems. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? Providing care for patients with an incredible team of health care providers. After training at academic centers in big cities, I've been amazed at the quality of care we provide at Boone and the teamwork I see daily. What is the most challenging aspect of your job? The COVID pandemic has been a unique time to practice medicine. We are caring for incredibly sick patients and have learned and adjusted our care as the pandemic has continued. The care provided for patients and families — who, for much of the year, have been unable to be present in the hospital — has been incredible to witness. It’s also been frustrating to feel like health care providers travel between two different worlds: the hospital, where we see incredibly sick patients, and the community, where we still see community members not following basic public health guidelines that could truly save lives. What advice would you give someone looking to become a doctor? I do think you have to truly love medicine to become a doctor. It is a long path, but I find it incredibly satisfying.
24
BOONE HEALTH
Spring 2021
What do you see changing in health care in the next five to 10 years? COVID-19 has made clear what many of us have known for years: there are huge disparities in how health care is delivered and in outcomes in different racial and ethnic groups. Racism needs to be fought at every level in our society, especially in health care. I think there will be necessary and increased focus on creating greater equity in healthcare, on recognizing and fighting implicit bias, and on making sure all patients get the care they deserve. What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I love spending time with my family. Before COVID, we enjoyed traveling for pleasure and visiting family in New York and New Orleans. We can’t wait to see our families again after this incredibly hard year. What advice would you give to someone who is going to be a patient in a hospital for a period of time? Because I spent much of my time in the ICU, I think the most important advice for anyone is to have a conversation with trusted family or friends about your wishes if you were to become unable to speak for yourself. Everyone should identify one person you would trust to make health care decisions for you. And if that person isn’t your legal next of kin, fill out a healthcare proxy form to legally allow them to be your decisionmaker if needed. It’s a hard conversation to have, but it’s incredibly helpful to have others know what your wishes would be in a life-or-death scenario. While we hope we never have to use this information, having these conversations ahead of time allows us to care for patients according to their wishes, and it unburdens friends and family who might have to make difficult decisions.
