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When I was welcomed into the medical community at the White Coat Ceremony on my first day of orientation at the New York University School of Medicine, a single piece of advice stood out and I remember it to this day: always listen to the nurses! It was some of the most sound professional guidance I’ve ever received, and I’ve followed it my entire career.

Exactly 90 years ago, the people of Winder, Georgia came together to observe the very first “Doctors Day” – a day to show thanks to the local physicians who cared for members of their rural community. Over the next few decades, Doctors Day spread to communities across the country, and in 1990, it was formally recognized as a national holiday. Just as the roles of physicians have expanded and diversified as medicine has evolved, so, too, has the holiday. This week, the nation recognizes the more than one million physicians across the country who have dedicated their lives to keeping us healthy.

Older people are a rapidly growing proportion of the population in the United States, and people’s expectations for care are evolving in tandem with their needs as aging adults. Today, there are more than 55 million people over age 65 – the majority of whom are living with more than one chronic condition – who require vital preventive services in order to get and stay healthy. Tomorrow, there will be more.

Signify Health clinicians meet people where they want to be: at home. As part of our in-home health evaluation program, health plan members are eligible to receive a no-cost, in-home visit from a licensed, highly trained clinician. During these visits, a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant examines the member’s whole health, including mental well-being, and identifies potential barriers to care. We partner with many leading Medicare Advantage plans, as well as provide services to certain Medicaid and commercial plan members.

When President John F. Kennedy established Older Americans Month in 1963 there were just 17 million Americans over the age of 65. Today, that number is 54 million, and growing rapidly. Then as now, the needs of older Americans are too often not fully appreciated or acted upon.