WHAT DRIVES US - American Heart Association

When 12 of his 13 cardiology partners decided to leave their inner-city practice for
the suburbs, Willie Edward Lawrence Jr., M.D., FAHA, didn’t budge.
Serving those in greatest need is what drives Dr. Lawrence, so he never considered
leaving. Not even on Jan. 1, 2010, his first day as the lone full-time cardiologist at
Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“They had a different vision of their role as cardiologists,” said Dr. Lawrence,
a longtime volunteer for the American Heart Association.
For many people, such a sudden development might spur soul-searching, even
a career crisis. Not Dr. Lawrence. He started a new cardiology group, which has
grown into an eight-person team serving the underserved.
“It was a non-decision — this is what drives me,” he said. “I had made my
decision 20 years before.” That was when Dr. Lawrence first made his
commitment to serve those in greatest need. With his credentials from Harvard
University and Johns Hopkins University, he left academic medicine to join an
inner-city cardiology practice.
However, Dr. Lawrence said the “real story” is how his group relied on the
American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines quality of care program.
“This was vital to our success,” he said. “Quality of care never suffered!”
Get With The Guidelines awarded the hospital the “triple gold level” of recognition
for its work in heart failure, stroke and coronary artery disease. The hospital
remains a major sponsor of Power To End Stroke. “These are vital tools in helping
to reduce health disparities,” Dr. Lawrence said.
Dr. Lawrence’s devotion to others is clear. In fact, his license plate reads non
sibi, a Latin phrase that means “not for self.”
His commitment to non sibi has had consequences, but it has also brought rewards.
In 2011, the American Heart Association named him National Physician of the Year.
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION • ANNUAL REPORT 2010
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