Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and 2025 has started off to a great start.

Our Team works on their vision boards at the beginning of each year to give us clarity and purpose. For this year, I chose my guiding word as “relationships”. I want to build more meaningful relationships with my family, at work and beyond. 2024 was a very challenging year for me personally. As some of you may have known, I was diagnosed with breast cancer last July and have been undergoing treatment over the last several months. We were fortunate to have Dr. Schwartz step in for me to take over patient care. My amazing Team went above and beyond in ensuring that our patients, the practice and I were taken care of and I am so very thankful for them.

I have been so blessed with the love, care and support I have been shown by my children, family, friends, team, patients, peers and my wonderful care team at Johns Hopkins. With so much time on my hands, it got me thinking about what is truly  important in this life and ultimately, it is the people around you. With that in mind, I am going to be more intentional in the way I spend my time with my loved ones; be more present in the moment with whoever I am interacting with; make new connections but also strengthen old ones with mutual trust and respect; making kindness the basis for how I treat others and myself. 

I encourage each of you to find your word for 2025 to help guide you to a more meaningful life. We welcome you to share it with us if you feel comfortable to do so.

On that note: this is a reminder that optimal health makes it easier to do all those things that you plan for the days ahead – so please eat healthy, exercise, get good sleep, practice mindfulness and make relationships that feed your soul. (Also, do not procrastinate on those doctor visits/tests that can prevent or catch disease early as it did for me!)

Here is to a healthier, happier and wonderful 2025! 

Be well and thank you for being in my life,

Hema (Dr. Patel)