Doctors are generally some of the most trusted people in America (#3 most trusted profession in a recent poll). They also tend to be some of the wealthiest Americans.

For the most part, we love our doctors. “Brand Doctor” works today. If a guy with a white coat & white teeth sells a product on TV, we’ll believe every word he says.

So it’s curious that “we the people” did not forcefully call on doctors & the powerful medical establishment to propose a viable solution for our 50 million uninsured people in the US over the past few years. Where were all the doctors in the debate over the uninsured? Surely they cared most about all the people left behind by our broken “big healthcare” system?

In the go-go 1920s, roughly 100 years before the latest round of healthcare debates, Dr. Michael Shadid cared.

Shadid was an industrious “foreign born” doctor who battled the Klan, racism and the medical establishment to help poor farmers gain access to quality health care in Dust Bowl Oklahoma. Dr. Shadid was a purpose driven doctor who bucked the system and dared to propose an alternative, cooperative business model in the face of traditional thinking.

Dr. Shadid’s book entitled Crusading Doctor highlights his struggle to start the first cooperative hospital in the US. It also shows just how hard the entrenched establishment will fight to keep the status quo. While reading the book, you’ll like be surprised to discover how ruthlessly and violently Shadid’s fellow doctors openly opposed and slandered him. Many of Shadid’s opponents focused on “what’s good for business” instead of “what’s good for poor, under served people.”

Crusading Doctor & Crusading Marketer
After observing the small community of Carter, Oklahoma build a thriving farming cooperative movement (cotton gins, grocery stores, etc) Dr. Shadid founded America’s first cooperative hospital in Elk City, Oklahoma (where I went to high school).

In 1929, Dr. Shadid’s alternative business plan looked something like this…he would organize 6,000 families who would buy a $50 share of stock with which to build and equip the hospital. Then, the community would pick a board of directors and each family would pay $25 per year (pre-payment plan) for their medical and surgical care.

Dr. Shadid set himself incredibly high targets in the beginning (6,000 members). So, he actually had to start the hospital on a discount system. By 1932, Shadid was able to apply the pre-payment plan. Getting to critical mass wasn’t easy, however. Dr. Shadid quickly became famous for using guerilla marketing tactics, word of mouth & CRM in order to gain enough members. He tirelessly promoted his cause, traveling across the country & lecturing on the benefits of preventative medicine and the cooperative model (a hospital owned by the patients).

Lessons from Dr. Shadid
1. Study Sociology, not just Technology: Dr. Shadid was a lifelong learner who kept up with new treatments and new technologies…but, he also kept up on the sociology and ethics of his profession. He was continuously interested in how his profession impacted people and society. This led him to better understand plight of people vs focusing on his own bottom line.
2. Purpose provides fuel in the face of extreme adversity: Dr. Shadid was very clear about his purpose; he wanted to provide quality health care at affordable rates for hard working, low-income farmers. Dr Shadid was slandered repeatedly as organized medical societies and their powerful allies tried to put him and the patient owned, cooperative hospital out of business year after year. He never wavered in the face of adversity, however, and he always put people and purpose out front.
3. Don’t Forget: Dr. Shadid continually remembered what it was like to live with hunger, poverty & lack of heatlh care, while growing up in an impoverished part of Syria. He remembered what it was like to lose patients in good, hard-working farm families. He didn’t forget these experiences & they fueled his desire to drive change.

What has happened to Dr. Shadid’s model?

As the NYT details in this article: It has survived. Shadid built a team of doctors who collaborated closely and were not paid based on how many procedures they performed. Today, this description fits the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic as well as less-known groups around the country.

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