Gratitude, service and humility were the common themes Saturday, September 9, as ten individuals took the stage to deliver their acceptance speeches into the Class of 2023 South Dakota Hall of Fame. Dr. Tom Dean of Wessington Springs was among the inductees, nominated within the medical category by Avera President and CEO Bob Sutton.
Described as “examples of excellence,” the South Dakota Hall of Fame categorizes inductees’ impacts on the state as “demonstrating qualifications, attributes, and achievements in the selected category that are exemplary and distinguished.”
Throughout the 40 years Dr. Dean practiced family medicine in Wessington Springs, he never lost sight of what he calls the most rewarding and important aspect of his field: knowing the patient’s story and developing long term relationships in order to make better clinical decisions.
“As I look back and try to come up with some meaningful reactions to this great honor, the very first thing that comes to mind is that I have had the great good fortune to live and work for a very long time in the supportive environment of a small rural community,” he shared during his speech at the banquet held at Arrowwood Cedar Shore Resort in Oacoma, SD. “I have had the opportunity to watch, to participate, and to learn from this community — seeing up close what works and what does not.”
Selected for helping shape South Dakota and the nation for a better tomorrow, Dr. Dean was inducted for not only his numerous accomplishments in the field of family medicine, but also his dedication to philanthropy and a wide variety of leadership roles he has served locally, regionally and nationally.
In 2007, Dr. Dean was appointed to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (Med PAC). The policies recommended by Med PAC and the weight they carry with Congress helped him bring rural health care front and center in Washington. His work on Med PAC affected major positive change in rural health policy and to date, Dr. Dean is the only South Dakotan to ever serve on the commission.
In 2009, Dr. Dean was named the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Practitioner of the Year. Ironically, several years prior, he was on the committee that selected the recipient. In his customary humble approach he said, “I certainly at that time had no thought of ever being selected for the honor.”
Right out of the gate during his acceptance speech, Dr. Dean was quick to express deep gratitude.
“Thank yous are due in so many directions. Thank you to the Hall of Fame organization for developing and promoting this whole concept. Thank you to Bob Sutton and the Avera crew for honoring me with this nomination,” he continued. “Thank you to the Horizon organization and particularly the gang at the Jerauld County Clinic and Avera Weskota Memorial Hospital who have been my second family for all these many years. Most especially I want to thank my own family who put up with my traipsing around the country often asking sarcastically ‘what are you going to talk about this time?’” Passionate about staying active when it comes to studying and hopefully helping solve the cost control aspect of health care, Dr. Dean also studies long term health and stability of communities and society as a whole.
“The US Surgeon General recently issued an advisory calling attention to, and raising alarm, about increasing loneliness and isolation in our society — a rise which represents a major threat to the health of our people — and, in my view, a real threat to our way of governing ourselves,” Dr. Dean pointed out in his speech. “Solid medical research has clearly demonstrated that social connectedness — or more specifically the lack thereof — has a direct and negative bearing on human health outcomes.”
Dean continued to share information about life expectancy in our country, and how it has declined significantly in the last several years due to what have been described as “deaths of despair,” deaths from gun violence, alcohol, drugs and suicide. He explained that these evolve directly from the concerns raised by the Surgeon General.
“I believe that the impact of loneliness and isolation extend well beyond their impact on human health. The breakdown in honest political discussion and the emergence of tribalism is a direct result of these factors and represents a serious threat to our democracy,” he added.
Dr. Dean suggested a response to the large crowd of attendees as he closed his acceptance speech.
“We need to reach out and talk to each other – especially to those who have a different point of view. It is the only way to get beyond the broken politics and tribalism which dominate our public policy making today,” he implored. “I am deeply honored by and appreciative of this recognition. I accept it with great pride but also with humility and a real sense of concern. There is so much yet to be done.”