Doctors bring babies into the world and bond with families as their children grow up. They respond to emergencies and help us through health crises. They give guidance, offer hope, and provide understanding.

To honor the special role of these caregivers, March 30 is recognized as National Doctors' Day. This annual celebration gives patients an opportunity to honor physicians who have made a difference in their lives.

Patients who choose to honor a doctor with a donation to the Spartanburg Regional Foundation provide support for others in need and make our community a healthier place. Donations to the Foundation fund clinical innovations, hospital staff training, financial assistance for low-income patients and much more.

“We recognize the special relationship between patients and their doctors,” said Kristy Caradori, executive director of the Spartanburg Regional Foundation. “A gift in honor of a caregiver is so meaningful to them because, ultimately, it helps them to do what they love – taking care of those in need.”

Doctors' Day was first observed in 1933 in Winder, Ga. It was the brainchild of Eudora Brown Almond, whose husband, Charles, was a doctor. She sent greeting cards to physicians and placed flowers on the graves of doctors who had passed away.

The day of recognition grew over the years, and in 1991, President George H. W. Bush officially proclaimed March 30 as National Doctors' Day. The proclamation read: “More than the application of science and technology, medicine is a special calling, and those who have chosen this vocation in order to serve their fellow man understand the tremendous responsibility it entails.”

Caradori noted that any doctor honored by a gift will receive an acknowledgment from the foundation.

“Physicians are so important to the well-being of our community, and we really value Doctors' Day as an opportunity for donors to thank them and support the work they do,” she said.

Make a Doctors' Day donation by visiting https://www.regionalfoundation.com/ways-give/honor-caregiver.