The community where ClickCare was started, and where we work from, is Broome County, New York. When you tell people that you're from Broome County, they often respond with: "Yes, I think I drove through there once." That said, our little area is also known as the Valley of Opportunity. It has been a place where innovation and success has been the norm. IBM started here. It followed the success of the world's largest shoe company, Endicott Johnson. Endicott Johnson was one of the first companies to provide housing, parks, healthcare, and education to its employees and families. Each park had, and still has, a carousel, and each ride is free in exchange for a piece of litter. Edwin Link, of Link Aviation (another local company), invented the flight simulator. The idea came to him as he sat on the bellows of an organ in his father's organ factory.
ClickCare is proud to follow in this tradition. But a tradition of innovation is also a challenge. When something is new and innovative, it is not understood. So we ask our colleagues to "think different", as the saying goes.
And just this past Sunday, more news was made just down the road from us. Maine-Endwell, a bedroom community of 17,000 people, won the Little League World Series! They beat a larger team from Seoul, South Korea. Seoul has a population of 25 million people and has been to the event 5 times.
What does this have to do with care coordination and telehealth?
Well, with the news of the brave young people from Maine-Endwell, and as I reflect on our community, I am reminded: little-known areas can be centers of innovation and little teams can accomplish a lot.
In healthcare we often feel that there must be something better, something bigger, someplace else. When decisions have to be made about how care is provided, a passive, give-up attitude is sometimes easier -- to just go along and wait. A common myth about healthcare collaboration is that you need to do it within an organization that supports it, only after all the key tools are in place.
But those who innovate, don't wait. They remind us -- we can do what we can, with what we have, where we are. That's what the people who lead us, and make us proud, do. That's what the ball players from Maine-Endwell in Upstate NY did, this past Sunday.
Looking for more stories of medical collaboration? Here's what we've found:
