Every year for the past thirty years, Patricia Handler of the Dade County Medical Association (DCMA) has had a new “boss.” Each newly-elected president of the organization serves a one-year term, and each brings an individual work style and personality to the position. Some people might find this frustrating, or even daunting, but to Handler, the variety is just one more dimension of a job that she loves and fulfills with energy and passion. And, although the physicians who have served as president may differ in their approach to the role, what they all have in common is their admiration and respect for Handler.

 

As Executive Vice President of DCMA since 1990, Handler is undoubtedly the backbone of the organization, but she clearly is also its heart and soul. She initially came to DCMA in 1982 when she was a newly arrived transplant from New York, armed with a master’s degree in healthcare administration and looking for a job. She nearly got lost on her way to the job interview at DCMA, but once she arrived there, she knew she had found a home. “I began as an executive assistant and loved the job from the start. I worked hard, often putting in a 70-hour work week.”

 

Taking good care of the 1500 physician members of DCMA is something at which Handler excels, says current organization president Beny Rub, M.D., a pediatrician. “Patricia has dedicated her life to DCMA. We physicians rely on her but none of us takes her for granted. Through her work, she makes our lives better, constantly saving us time and money. She keeps us informed about legislative actions, locally and in Tallahassee. She does a superb job at keeping DCMA solvent through her financial skill; we are always in the black and this enables DCMA to move forward in a positive direction. The dues that members pay are spent responsibly.”

 

Dr. Rub says that Handler never misses a meeting, is available to him and the members at any time and pays attention to details such as reminding doctors when their license renewals are due. She publishes the DCMA’s monthly newsletter, Miami Medicine, and serves as executive director of the DCMA Political Action Committee. “Her efforts make a difference,” he says. “Patricia helps us get doctors on track to encourage legislators to vote in the best interests of doctors and patients.”

 

Dr. Miguel Machado, a neurosurgeon who is a past president of DCMA and the current president of the Florida Medical Association, says that Handler is invaluable to DCMA. “She possesses the organizational memory,” he says. “She remembers everything. She understands how Tallahassee and the political world work. For me personally, she has been my friend, my right hand and my advisor. She’s a great mother with a wonderful daughter.”

 

Although her position with DCMA is demanding, Handler finds time for community organizations whose missions resonate with her. She is involved with the Healthy Start Coalition/Fetal-Infant Mortality Committee and serves on the School Health Medical Advisory Board. In February, she was honored by her medical society executive peers and by the Miami-Dade County Health Department. Those who have honored her like to speak of her many positive qualities: diligence, modesty, responsibility and dedication are some. But the quality that rises to the top, that captures her essence in her role at DCMA, is loyalty. She believes in the mission of DCMA, and she believes that by helping doctors, she contributes to the most important job in healthcare: patient care. “My job is to take good care of doctors so that they can take good care of patients,” she explains. Handler was promoted to executive vice president at the same time that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. She never missed a beat, continuing to work full time. “I focused on my work to get me through that period. I’m a single mother; getting well and continuing to work were essential. I like to work.”

 

Handler is a self described “behind the scenes” person, uncomfortable in the spotlight, but she is eager to take the opportunity of her 30-year anniversary to encourage all physicians in Miami-Dade County to join DCMA.

 

“Since 1903, DCMA has been a unified voice representing the best interests of physicians. We bring all the medical specialties together and push for legislative and regulatory solutions to the challenges facing doctors and the healthcare industry. We work closely with the Florida Medical Association and the American Medical Association. Whatever we achieve through DCMA, we achieve for all doctors in the region, not just for our members. There is no better resource for doctors than DCMA, in meeting their objectives for their practices and their patients. The benefits of membership, including discounts on malpractice insurance premiums, are numerous and some of the benefits offer savings that offset the cost of annual dues.

 

“DCMA is the major advocate for the medical profession in Miami Dade County. There is power in numbers, and every physician in the region should be a member. DCMA is not only about helping individual physicians but also about protecting the integrity of the medical profession for future generations.”