They Meet Again

In this episode, Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates shares a remarkable story of a role reversal of sorts. Professor and student meet again, unexpectedly – as patient and physician - at the height of the pandemic. 

You'll also learn about an important alliance between Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering - and the difference it is making in this patient's cancer journey. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Guru Dakshina is a tradition of repaying and giving thanks to a teacher for what they've given you through knowledge.

SPEAKER_03 0:10

I am grateful to John for giving me that opportunity to take care of it.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Welcome to More Life. In this episode, Hartford Healthcare's Steve Coates shares a remarkable story of a role reversal of sorts. Professor and student meet again, unexpectedly, as patient and physician at the height of the pandemic. Here's Steve Coates.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

After several weeks of battling a case of shingles that just wouldn't go away, John Matthew knew something wasn't right. His primary care provider sent him to the Hartford Hospital Emergency Room. Matthew was eventually admitted to the hospital and received a life-changing diagnosis. Cancer. Mantle cell lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells that help your body fight off infections. As a Board of Trustees distinguished professor of management at the University of Connecticut with expertise in leadership and team building, Matthew was well acquainted with the complexities of the healthcare system. Now, as a cancer patient, he knew he could be witnessing it firsthand. Matthew was anxious, mostly he said, for his family, but said knowing what to expect helped ease the fear just a bit. And then a bit of serendipity. Little did Matthew know that it would be a former student who would help lead him through his cancer journey.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Well, um, because I was admitted to Hartford Hospital under the guise of shingles, that's an airborne disease. So I was up on 12 high, uh, where they control airflow. Uh so I was behind a screen and I heard a voice on the other side. Uh, and as the person came around, they were in full PPEs and face shields and so forth. But I recognized the voice, and I recognized it as uh Dr. Garuso, who was a student in my executive MBA class a couple years past.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Hartford Healthcare Cancer Institute Medical Oncologist Dr. Matavi Garusu completed the executive MBA program at UConn back in April of 2019. When she got the call for a possible new lymphoma patient, she looked at the scan and recognized the name immediately.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

I went inside, I said, Um, hello, Professor, this is Matavi. Do you recognize me? And right away. And he said, Of course I do recognize you. And then I went in, so this was at that uh opening the door, and at the closing the door, that was where I introduced, then I went closer, and of course, outstanding and I was talking to him, and then he was like, I know, you were sitting uh in he was able to tell me on his, you know, the right side, where in the third row that I was sitting.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

During her studies in the Yukon MBA program, Dr. Garusu especially liked Matthew's lessons about leadership and team building. She reflected on one in which students imagined they were climbing a mountain in the Himalayas, and they had to work together, leveraging each student's skills to create the perfect team to survive the trek. Now her professor had his own mountain to climb, and she would be creating the team to help him battle his cancer. A crucial part of the treatment plan for Matthew and many other patients like him is Hartford Healthcare's partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Hartford Healthcare became the charter member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance back in 2013. The alliance gives direct access to MSK's world-renowned treatment and clinical trials to patients who might not otherwise have access to them in their community. Having MSK as a team member was critical to Matthew's care plan. Dr. Garusu. The plan included a regimen of chemo and immunotherapy and then a scan to restage his cancer. When that was done, the team would consider whether Matthew would then have a stem cell transplant or CAR T cell therapy at MSK. The plan wouldn't be possible without the seamless collaboration and communication that begins the moment a patient walks through the door of the hospital, according to Dr. Garusu. In Hartford, Matthew began a chemo-based treatment in preparation for the possible transplant. Unexpected complications have slowed the process a bit. Meanwhile, Matthew started on a recently FDA approved medication and treatment and says he's feeling well and is back to work. His care team remains in constant communication with the lymphoma team at MSK, and he's yet to have to travel to New York City. Matthew, who's worked with some pretty big clients like the U.S. Army, the FAA, and NASA, says he's been especially impressed by the teamwork he's seen between Hartford Healthcare and MSK, and it's reinforced some of his beliefs about team building and effective leadership.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

And what I can say is that uh here in the United States we have this fiction of the great leader. Uh it's the all-knowing, all-deciding uh man or woman who, you know, you know, the leading the charge type of stereotypic leader. That's not what a good leader is. What a good leader is, is somebody who surrounds themselves with really smart people and gets a lot of input and manages that input and brings it together and makes decisions with others. Uh that really is about building other people and making decisions as a collective. Um that's something I really really respected about Dr. Caruso. I saw that in her as a student, uh, and I really appreciated that as uh you know a primary physician leading through uh the care that I've been receiving.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

And in this holiday season, Matthew says he's focused on gratitude.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Yeah, it's it's uh a little ironic. Ma, a lot of my colleagues have joked that uh I really decided to make a case study uh rather than watching from the outside and uh what we normally do. Um but what I can say is um, you know, I'm just sort of thankful right now. You know, part of the team here coming up on Thanksgiving is to be thankful. I've got a you know a wonderful supportive wife and and kids. Uh I've got uh supportive family and friends and colleagues around me. Uh, and it really allows you to appreciate uh the various people who are important to you and help you through challenging times like this.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Dr. Garusu says her experience providing Matthews care reminds her of a concept she became familiar with during her studies in India. Guru Dakshina is a tradition of repaying and giving thanks to a teacher for what they've given you through knowledge.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

The philosophy behind that is that it's not just a material way of giving something back, it is the excellence the student attains in this concept of all the concepts that the student has learned, and how you are able to be able to disseminate that knowledge to the rest of the world is the concept of how you are giving back to the teacher. I'm thankful that I had an opportunity to do so. How many students get this wonderful opportunity to do this kind of a payback? So I am grateful to John for giving me that opportunity to take care of him.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

For Hartford Healthcare, I'm Steve Coates.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

To learn more about the Hartford Healthcare Cancer Institute and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Alliance, go to Hartford Healthcare.org slash cancer. For Hartford Healthcare, I'm Enron DePierre. Thanks for listening to more life.

SPEAKER_05 8:35

I'm ready for my close-up. All the faces start to light up. You know I love this feeling. I got more life in my life. If you feel it, then you'll know. We can go anywhere we want to go. We're gonna love this feeling.

SPEAKER_04 8:50

We got more life in our life. Now I'm gonna start to start.

SPEAKER_05 9:45

I'm ready to start the light up. You know, I love this. I got four life in my life.