Thank you, Dr. Bill
For nearly 15 years, I spent most Saturday mornings sitting in as a guest and eventually co-hosting the Genesis Today Radio Show on WOC News Talk 1420.
We were billed as an hour-long, call-in show that discussed the most important current health topics with Genesis doctors, medical experts, and members of the community directly related to those issues.
Sadly, and perhaps ironically, the show ended at the beginning of the COVID pandemic when we needed most to hear from medical experts.
Dr. William Langley, a retired family physician and Genesis Health System administrator, routinely rotated into the Saturday morning schedule to decipher and comment on the medical news of the week.
Our listeners (however few) loved “Dr. Bill.”
So much so, I once received a letter to my home from one of our faithful listeners scolding me and my co-hosts for interrupting Dr. Bill and not allowing him more airtime.
As they say… the truth hurts.
We should have given Dr. Bill more time to speak because he always had valuable information to share. He researched his topics thoroughly and never overreached when explaining the science behind the headlines.
I would often try to stump Dr. Bill but could not land on subject matter beyond his grasp. Not surprising. He’s extremely well read and one of the few people I know who studied Latin.
I learned from Dr. Bill the difference between causation and correlation. In other words, to think before jumping to conclusions about seemingly related events.
I learned from Dr. Bill how global surveillance of the dominant flu strain is part of the process for developing our annual flu vaccine.
I learned from Dr. Bill which medical journals provide credible research and analysis. Most of my health information came directly from the pages of People Magazine.
I have never stopped learning from Dr. Bill. Nor has our community because he has a continued media presence.
In 2015, I was delighted that Dr. Bill accepted our invitation to join the Board of Directors for Genesis Philanthropy (GP), the predecessor organization to the Better Health Foundation. His expertise proved invaluable as the Board determined the best use of GP grant funding to address complex community health challenges.
It was Dr. Bill in the role of GP Board Chair who, in 2023, helped us successfully navigate the transition from a public charity within Genesis Health System to an independent private foundation.
This week, BHF is undergoing another major transition as Dr. Bill becomes the Board’s Immediate Past President and Rob Woodall steps into the big shoes, worn with great humility I might add, by Dr. Bill.
It would be easy to underestimate the amount of time Dr. Bill has devoted to BHF. He has attended nearly every standing committee meeting and presided over every Board meeting since March of 2023. That’s conservatively twenty-five contact hours.
He has also read every grant application (6 competitive cycles and a handful of discretionary requests). And, he has carved out an additional 90 minutes or more each month to meet with me personally to offer his support and guidance.
This running total does not account for the unreported hours Dr. Bill has spent looking at health outcomes at the census tract level and then carving the data into bite-sized pieces for the Board to digest, react to, and use in its decision-making.
When determining the health priority for our first Solutions at Scale grant in 2024, we leaned heavily on Dr. Bill’s research and recommendations. I am optimistic the project selected will lead to improved birth outcomes and a healthier start in life for generations of babies born in our community.
That’s a wonderful legacy for the BHF Board of Directors, and especially, for our leader. On behalf of a grateful staff, Board and community, thank you, Dr. Bill. Well done!