Several years ago, a woman I had cared for walked into the emergency department with a birthday cake. She presented the cake to me and said, "You saved my life."

Here’s the thing: I didn’t save her life. The fact that she is alive today has little to do with me and much more to do with the competence of a team of doctors and nurses who played a less memorable role in her story. Most importantly, she survived because of the choices she made after she got home from the hospital.

I had seen her exactly one year prior to that date when she arrived in the emergency department complaining of indigestion. She told me her story and I examined her. While I recognized her symptoms might be related to a heart problem, I was convinced this was simply indigestion. I ordered a few tests including an EKG and expected that she would go home without any problems. Unexpectedly, she suddenly lost consciousness, stopped breathing and her heart stopped.

Her husband alerted a nearby nurse who quickly moved the patient to a resuscitation room. The team moved into action. She was placed on a heart monitor, and the diagnosis was made. A nurse applied paddles to her chest and delivered an electrical shock to restart her heart. Thankfully, she responded to treatment and awoke to tell us the indigestion had returned right before she “passed out.”

From there, a cardiologist admitted her to the hospital where she received several other tests and was started on new medications. She returned home and was cared for by her primary care physician who carefully managed her heart disease.

Here's the really important part: She quit smoking, exercised more and began eating better. She recognized her brush with death was a second chance and she turned her life around.

It is not uncommon for a patient to attribute a life-changing event to a single person or place. In reality, healthcare systems save lives. This woman is alive today because of her concerned husband, an alert nurse, another nurse who shocked her heart, the cardiology team and her primary care providers. Importantly, this woman made crucial decisions to lead a healthy life.

Physicians and hospital leaders are always working to develop better ways to deliver healthcare. Each change at the system level is made with the same care and attention that we employ when we talk with an individual patient as their doctor. Today we are spending more time and energy keeping people healthy by helping them to choose healthier lifestyles.

For several years, our patient returned to the emergency department with a new birthday cake to commemorate what she described as her new birthday; the day on which she had a new start to her life. Because shifts rotate, a new group of providers is working each year when the cake arrives, and those providers gratefully accept the cake to celebrate the woman’s victory. Even though they weren’t there the day she almost died, they are part of a team that is there each day to care for anyone who walks through the door.