THE ROAD BACK TO CONNECTION
Route 66 celebrates 100 years —and it's a reminder of healthcare’s path back to direct care
Last year, my husband and I had the chance to travel a stretch of historic Route 66 in both Oklahoma and Arizona. It was nostalgic. Something that had carried generations of people forward, each with their own story, their own purpose, their own destination.
It wasn’t perfect. Parts were worn. Some stretches felt forgotten. But it still connected. It still mattered.
As Route 66 approaches its centennial, you realize that a 100 years is a long time! It feels like a reminder that the things built with purpose—connection, access, independence—have a way of enduring, even when the world around them becomes more complex.
As I sit down to write today, I find myself remembering that road trip and realizing there’s a connection there to what healthcare once was, and what it still can be. Because healthcare, at its core, was never meant to be complicated.
It was meant to be direct. A relationship between a patient and a physician. A trusted path—clear, accessible, and grounded in human connection.
But somewhere along the way, we paved over that original road.
We layered in systems, regulations, and intermediaries until the path between doctor and patient became harder to navigate. What was once straightforward became fragmented. What was once personal became transactional.
And yet—just like Route 66—that original foundation hasn’t disappeared.
It’s still there.
Direct care, in many ways, feels like rediscovering that road. Not creating something new, but returning to something essential. Something that was always meant to guide us.
When my husband and I drove those miles, we passed people who chose that route on purpose. Not because it was the fastest way—but because it meant something different. It offered connection, history, and a sense of intention.
That’s what I see happening in healthcare right now.
Patients are looking for something more personal. More transparent. More connected.
Physicians are looking for something more sustainable. More meaningful. More aligned with why they chose medicine in the first place.
Route 66 didn’t endure because it was efficient.
It has endured because it mattered.
And I think healthcare is finding its way back to that same truth.
Not by going backward—but by rediscovering what was always worth preserving.
