What could be better than winning a Will Solimene Award?

I want to begin this month's letter by saying congratulations to Janet Cromer, winner of the 2008 Will Solimene Award for Excellence in Medical Communication from the New England Chapter of the American Medical Writer's Association. Janet has been recognized for her three-part series on the medical humanities in Boston area hospitals that appeared in On Call last year.

In that series, Janet described the role arts and humanities play in creating a caring and healing environment at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Cambridge Health Alliance. All three articles in the series can be accessed in our archive pages.

This is the second time Janet has won a Will Solimene Award for stories she's written for On Call. The first time was for an article she wrote in 2005 - "Drawing Out the Best in People" - which described the work being done at the Boston Institute for Arts Therapy. Also, this year's award marks the third time an On Call story has been selected as a Solimene award winner and the fourth time an On Call writer has received the award. It makes me proud to be associated with such a fine group of writers.

But even more importantly - and I know I speak for the writers as well - it makes us all proud to be able to tell your stories. For instance, this month's feature, also by Janet Cromer, is about an innovative program that's part of the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston's family of services - VNA Private Care. VNA Private Care offers services ranging from geriatric care management and preventive home care delivered by licensed practical nurses and registered nurses to providing cultural companions and caring for patients with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The agency's primary goal is to help families with senior adults and adults with disabilities keep their loved ones as independent as possible for as long as possible. In the process, VNA Private Care also helps family caregivers maintain balance in their own life.

That's a story worth telling. And as good as it feels to win an award, the real pleasure comes from being able to tell it.

Joseph Saling