It pays to care…

...in so many ways, and not least of all when it comes to health care. See why one couple thinks it's worth a $42 million investment.

Carolyn and Matthew Bucksbaum, as reported by The New York Times, are donating the money to create an institute devoted to improving medical students’ handling of the doctor-patient relationship. The Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence will be led by Dr. Mark Siegler, the doctor who treated the Bucksbaums at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Siegler, who has been a general practitioner for more than 40 years and is also a leading medical ethicist, still makes house calls. His business card also lists his personal cell and home phone numbers.

Studies show that a good rapport between doctors and patients correlates with positive health outcomes. Though many medical schools teach the importance of showing empathy, this new institute will put compassion and empathy “on the same pedestal as science and technology,” said Siegler in the article.

He goes on to say that the University of Chicago will have a goal to “preserve the sense of kindness” in medical students before it is “beaten out of them” during their training.

To read the article, click here.

For more on about mindfulness’s benefits for the  healthcare system, read the following story from Mindful.org:

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