A Fine Time Was Had By All

Inspired and organized by Wade Duckett, the SMA Annual Party was an amazing evening of celebrating. Meeting aboard the William D. Evans paddleboat, over 100 of us set sail from Mission Bay, partying with old friends and making some new ones.

First serenaded by guitar music, then treated to an amazing buffet that had something for everyone, most of the SMA team and their families feted and toasted the night away.

The event’s highlight was unquestionably the presentations, where we heard from the company’s leadership, Drs. Jason Keri, David Tweedy, Teja Singh, Jr. and Aboo Nasar. They spoke of the many ways we’re going to look to invest internally going forward, and work on strategies to better connect us across our divisions. Noted Dr. Keri; “We’re going to report regularly on standout moments and great team members, and highlight some of the new projects we’re about to launch.”

Among the SMA successes Dr. Keri announced were having one of the largest biofeedback programs in the city and collaborating with Palomar Health to co-staff a 120-bed psych hospital on the Palomar campus over the next few years.

Finally, not a dry eye was left in the house when Dr. Tweedy spoke of Dr. Hossein Samadi – a geriatric psychiatrist who helped build the psychiatric portion of SMA. “He was invaluable, and we wouldn’t be where we are without him,” noted Dr. Tweedy, adding “We miss him dearly, and his loss is something I’ll never understand or accept.”

With those words hanging in the air, Dr. Tweedy announced the annual Hossein Samadi, M.D. award to honor SMA mental health providers whose passion, focus and outcomes help carry forward his legacy at SMA and our ability to deliver psychiatric services to complex, underserved populations.

And given that this was our first gathering since 2109, awards (including $1,000 cash) for 2020, 2021 and 2022 were given out to: