Many of us might be familiar with “The Gates of the Mountains Wilderness”, a region in the state of Montana, named by Lewis and Clark in 1805 during their trailblazing transcontinental journey across the United States, at a time when much of the occupied Western Front were still Spanish territories. But fewer might be savvy to the fact that this area also was the site of the tragic Mann Gulch fire of 1949, which claimed the lives of 13 young woodland fire-fighters.
Of course, anyone who has read Norman MacLean’s book Young Men and Fire might relate to it instantly. The fire was a national tragedy which claimed young lives, men who were strictly adhering to what had been drilled into their heads during their training, even during their final moments.
Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP is a Harvard Professor who also is the CEO and cofounder of the not-for-profit organization, Institute for Healthcare Improvement or IHI, which is totally dedicated to the improvement of Healthcare Systems in the United States. On December 9, 1999, in front of a spellbound audience numbering close to 3000, at the 11th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Healthcare, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Berwick drew uncanny parallels between the Mann Gulch tragedy and the then prevalent state of healthcare.
Although things have vastly improved in most areas in which Dr. Berwick found seeming apathy at the time of his address, the central themes underpinning his medical parable holds relevance even today. Those central motifs are that of “thinking-out- of-the-box” (similar to the escape fire built by one of the survivors of the tragedy) and dropping the dead-weights of past legacies (many who perished in the fire lugged heavy tool bags called Pulaskis up a steep slope with fire chasing them at 7 miles/hour).
The founding fathers of BillingParadise had been deeply influenced by the healthcare philosophies of Dr. Berwick, and that is why you will find that once BillingParadise has been handed over the mantle of your medical billing and medical coding responsibilities, we will leave no stone unturned to put out any wildfires threatening to destroy what you hold most dear, your ability to provide quality and affordable healthcare to all.
So, call us BillingParadise, on the toll-free at 1-888-571-9069 or email steve@billingparadise.com, lest that fire jump the gulch, like it did at Mann Gulch.
