Before us is the sobering epiphany that hospitals are inescapably engulfed in the vast abyss – awash in a sea of the antiquity of timeless change. Before us is the unrelenting alluvial fan of rushing waters of time and river. Before us is the throbbing, aching wonder of our future. Before us is the boundless urge of the incoming tides of the antiquity of timeless change. We face the stubborn, invulnerable destiny of the setting sun.

We face in the great opulent darkness the unfathomed duty to find a new course. We face the fading potency of our time. We face in our soul the inchoate aching wonder of what is before us.

Today, along our wave-washed shores, we must act upon the tides of change. Today, under the awesome, dark canopy of socioeconomic demands, we must act. Today, guided by the candle- light of our time, we must act. Today, as we feel the dawn and see the glow of the rising sun that charges our will, we must keep up the daunting faith to act.

Let us accept the obdurate and contemptuous finality that the Affordable Care Act is the phantasmal shape of our time. Let us in our voice, our heart, our soul, and our brains join in harmony to create a passionate devotion to work together in the antiquity of timeless change.

Before us is the duty to answer the bold and daring call to serve. Before us is the clarion call of our mission. Before us is the responsibility to preserve our hospital through the antiquity of timeless change.

We face in the coming months many decisions to align our hospital in order to meet the challenges ahead. We face the opportunity to work together in a professional spirit. We face the privilege of this moment in time to become more creative and more deter- mined to endure the challenges and changes ahead.

I ask that we bond together as we embrace the many external forces in these turbulent socioeconomic times. I ask that we not allow the challenges ahead to take away our spirit and devotion to serve.

Sincerely,

Ed Piper, Ph.D.

Former President & Chief Executive Officer, 2000-2016