Play Ball!

You haven't had a chance recently to really criticize my managerial judgment and priorities, so it is time to offer that opportunity. It is after all, Spring Training. Let's talk inside baseball.

Several years ago, a number of hospitals in Boston were vying to become the Official Hospital of the Boston Red Sox. This is a sponsorship arrangement. In return for paying an annual fee, the designated hospital has exclusive naming rights to be associated with the team, both for purposes of outside advertising and for signage in Fenway Park. You also provide first aid to fans in Fenway Park for the 81 (or hopefully more!) home games each season. (Provision of medical service to the players is not necessarily included, as Major League Baseball quite appropriately does not want to require players' treatment decisions to be tied to sponsorship contracts.)

Those of you from other cities and countries are probably already wondering about this. What is the possible advantage to a hospital that chooses to do this? Those people who are citizens of Red Sox Nation (anywhere in the world) already understand the value.

In our case, finding ourselves engaged in a successful turnaround after almost going out of business because of a botched merger between 1996 and 2001, we were looking to remind people in Boston that we were alive and well. We wanted to portray a sense of permanence for our hospital, which had been badly beaten up in news reports and in community perception for several years.

Also, I had had a chance to meet the owners and top management people at the team, and I discovered that we had virtually identical philosophies of community involvement and stewardship of our respective "franchises."

So, we made a proposal that, yes, included a payment and first aid, but that equally focused on programs we could do together for the community. As an example, one of the showcase programs we proposed to sponsor was the Red Sox Scholars. Each year, 25 economically disadvantaged but academically excellent fifth graders from Boston neighborhoods would be inducted into the program, $5000 put into an interest bearing account towards their college education, assigned a "medical mentor" from BIDMC, and presented with programs designed to enhance their teenage years and encourage them to stay in school and go to college.

Another program combined the resources of BIDMC, the American Red Cross, and the Red Sox to encourage blood donations. By publicizing the "blood donor of the game" and by co-sponsoring a September 11 anniversary blood drive, we have encouraged hundreds of people to give blood that is used by hospitals throughout the city. Likewise, we have sponsored a skin cancer awareness day and an organ transplant awareness day at Fenway Park.

I have received criticism from some for entering into this partnership, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I will not even try to make a case that spending money in this way brings in more patients to our hospital and ultimately improves our financial ability to conduct research and teach medical students. I will, however, unashamedly make the case that two championship institutions from different lines of business can jointly make wonderful contributions to the life of our city.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention something else. Over the decades, our hospital has been known for success in treating all kinds of diseases. But this was the first time ever that we cured a curse . . . .