Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Goodbye (for now)

After eight years (9/27/03) and 6672 posts, I have decided to leave the message board. You cannot even begin to know how much I have enjoyed being on the board and being a moderator.

I have learned so much from everyone, but more importantly, many of you have become like family.

I can't say too much, but suffice it to say that the statement at the top of the board is solely because of me. I have hurt some people, and I apologize to anyone who was offended by any of my insensitive comments.

I'll still be around, and if you look at Who's Online, you may catch me, but it will likely be rather late. And, for those who know me well, you know how hard it will be for me not to post.

I may be back. Goodbye for now.

Oh, my..........

you will be sorely missed --- you have always been honest and open--please change your mind

Bert,
The people on this board care a great deal about you. You have so much good advice that you have given freely to others. I cannot even imagine how much time and energy you have devoted to helping us. I think the stress of running your practice and moderating this board without any vacation has taken a toll on you. I know you must be exhausted. Is there anyone among us who has not been insensitive when we are over tired? I think the good you have done far outweighs any bad. Please do not stay away. We value your presence and participation in this board family. But, please take some time to rest, regroup and care for yourself too. 6673 and counting....

Bert,

You are one of AC?s user board pioneers. You have a good heart! Thank you for sharing your very much appreciated advice. Please, stay in touch, which I know you will.

This is the worst thing that has happened since we started using AC. I just hope it isn't for real...just a bad dream. Don't say goodbye. I hope you don't leave.
Nancy

uh, Bert? I don't really know what happened, but the board is stronger with you than without you.

Bert, I am new to the AC family but want to say thank you for all your help and assistance--you have been extremely helpful in my search for the right EHR for my practice. jimmie

ABSOLUTELY agree..
Can we refuse your resignation, Bert?
How many people do you help every day? (over and over)
We have seen you, tactfully, repeatedly, correct, encourage, tolerate so many "mistakes" from so many of us... It would be a shame to walk away from all your contributions.. you have been there at all times of the night, aiding any willing AC user..
So, there is a disclaimer, a disagreement, a viewpoint... is that not part of this user board?

So let me get this straight. Bert helps me with some of my social snafu's on this board, but he's the one leaving?

JamesNT

Bert,
Thanks for your years of service. Considering your own post about being overworked I think it is a good thing for YOUR health to take a break from this board. My advice would be to put yourself in "read only" mode for a while and only read once a week.

Bert, you just cannot leave like this, so many of us depend on you for advice about AC, High Tech Stuff in our practices & for a range of other things. What happened ?..., did any of us offend you in anyway.

I know you are tired, but hopefully not sick of us & the User Forum. Take a good vacation, relax, heal thyself and in a few months please (to the power of n)come back.

Regretfully, but with many thanks & much regards.

Thanks Bert, hope this isn't the last we hear from you.

What?!?!!
This can't be!!!

Bert, whom have you offended?

I think you should seriously reconsider.

Take some time off and then return with a fresh perspective.

See you soon again.

ok, we all need to take up a collection and send Bert something nice. Im in. I have been reading this board and only became active a short time ago. This meaningful use stuff is tough on all of us....there are days I want to be a plumber - sometimes what they put there hands in is cleaner than what we do on a daily basis....So

I am in if we all want to send Bert something nice for his hard work!!!

I have been away from the message board for several months, but with renewed interest I wanted to post this. Many of you know that Bert and I are best friends, he works 2-miles down the road from me, we talk almost nightly about love, life, work, etc. He recently shared with me his need to leave the ACUB. I do not know why he is "gone (for now)." However, based upon all the hard work and countless THOUSANDS or TENS OF THOUSANDS of hours that Bert has logged into the ACUB, I am quite certain Bert did this with a very heavy heart.

I will speak as unbiased as I can remain, given that he is like a brother to me. Most everyone on here sees Bert in 2D, as a tireless contributor to AC and helping users. Some of you know him personally, but I know him intimately. He literally spends every day on the ACUB and has done so for over SIX or SEVEN years. He has helped many of you personally by email, phone, and he has even logged into some of your computers remotely to help some of the fellow users. It deeply saddens me that he feels the need to step down "(for now)." Bert wishes there was an alternative, but "(for now)" there is not.

Bert has not had vacation in 6 years, he has no pediatric call coverage, and gets paged at least 5-6 times nightly if not more. He gets tired. Bert is a human being. To my knowledge Bert is not a paid staff member of Amazing Charts. He needs a break. He gets tired and sometimes he says something that sounds sarcastic, cynical, or dry. Bert alluded to posting something offensive. Maybe he posted something that was taken the wrong way by someone??? I can't imagine. IF so, I have searched his posts and can't find out what it was. I never saw anything that looks offensive.

Bert, loves this EMR. I know because as much as he praises AC to the ACUB, he convinced me to buy it. Not only that, he helped me set it up, then got my network up and running. He convinced me to hang in there and stay w/ AC even though I am having horrible problems using my security printer for C-II's. My friend Bert gave his time to help me. He has given thousands of hours to the benefit of all AC users. I'm sure Bert would love to give more time if he could.

What I want to add is something most of you know. He is a great PERSON. He is one of the most gracious, helpful people I have ever known. He will do anything for anyone. He taught me about pediatrics when I was in residency, he helped me start using AC, he helped me grieve when my wife passed away, he continues to help me w/ computer issues, and he continues to remain one of my best friends in life.

I am sorry Bert had to step down. In one respect it will be good: he won't have an excuse to avoid me on the tennis court. Other than that, I can see no good that will come from the loss of Bert as ACUB administrator. I hope that whatever happened to force Bert into a position to "resign," that it gets resolved so all of these loyal AC family members will see their mentor return.

Final note: Given that big warning at the main page of the ACUB telling us how to post, I do not wish for this post to be taken the wrong way by anyone. I am in no way indemnifying anyone. I am in no way speaking critically of AC. I am simply stating facts about my friend (the former ACUB administrator) which I hope do not get misconstrued: 1) I am friends w/ Bert, the VOLUNTEER ACUB administrator. 2) I personally know that he has logged in cumulative years of his life devoted to the ACUB and the EMR. 3) I am sad that he had to step down from a volunteer position which HE LOVES. 4) I wish we could know why Bert had to step down, since he has affected so many of us in a positive way. 5)Bert is a great person. 6)I wish the situation could be rectified so Bert will want to return.

There, I've said my peace. I'm leaving the ACUB again for another long hiatus away. While my presence or absence here has no effect on the ACUB, I suspect Bert's absence will cast ripples beyond which anyone (repeat anyone) can foresee. I hope for everyone's sake that he will return some day.

Well said, Adam. Some of us are privy to the whys behind this event but it is not our place to reveal them. As a former moderator and now just a "common user" I too know how many hours Bert has spent. He loves this board. He is not leaving because he is tired of it or just plain tired. Perhaps one day things will change again and bring him back to us. I can only hope. In the mean time, hopefully others can step up and fill in at least part of one of his shoes. I learn an incredible amount on this board...the good and the bad things about AC, medicine and life in general. I hope that will not end with Bert's leaving.

Some recent posts by Bert made it obvious that he needed to take a break from "something" and get some time for himself. You don't get to just go take a break from the wife & kids so that's out. (well, you can for a week maybe). And as we know, when you are self-employed, if you dont work you dont eat. So if he needs to take a break from ACUB and maybe get a better grip on things and some time to himself, then hey, he should. I'm really sorry to see him go. Hope he comes back soon. But we would all agree that he must do what he feels is best. And just think, when he does return he'll BE EVEN BETTER!

So Bert, hate to see you go. Please find a way to take a little vacation. Ride a roller coaster! Take care of yourself. Get all of your optimism back (when you are getting burned out, it really goes away even if you didn't notice. Others do). And if we are lucky, you will come back to the boards in the not-too-distant future and feeling much better about everything.

Thanks to you for all your assistance, you will be missed.

I do recognize how a volunteer job can become overwhelming and you deserve a break (and vacation).

Come back whenever you feel like :^)

Greg

Thanks for being our go-to guy for all things AC and EMR-computing in generally. I'm really going to miss hearing about your exploits, bats and all. Best to you in your future endeavors.


It seemed only right to end with a quote.

Bert, you're a good man. 6,673 posts ain't nothing to sneeze at. Can't wait for number 6,674, if you so choose.

Ditto. You will be greatly missed Bert. Yet, given your recent posts about burnout--a sabbatical from the Board is a good idea. Why, you might even get out of town for a few days and take a vacation without your laptop or smartphone! :-)

I echo and ditto all the above comments. As a perpetual lurking non-poster, I have gained much from Bert's postings. I cannot imagine what drastic events make Bert decide to step down. I sincerely hope it is just for personal rest and recuperation, and not some unknown petty offense someone else perceived about Bert's postings or actions. If the latter, I hope whoever is the center of the 'offense' steps up and stands up and publicly say that Bert is valuable and whatever he did to offend does not warrant this drastic action.

@Todd, I wish there is some way to show our gratitude as well for his years of service.

Wow. I hadn't really digested the fact that Bert had over 6600 posts.

Fellow ACers. After giving it a lot of thought and receiving so many positive posts and emails, I have decided to return to the board. I feel a little stupid coming back so quickly, but I found that I missed it a lot.

I will write a longer post later. I can't tell you how much I have appreciated your compliments and support.

Oh, and no gifts.

Post # 6674 and, I might add, the best one yet.

Thanks Ches,

I hope no one underestimates what the impact of their comments were. They were better than a vacation.

Welcome back! Brett from Green Bay Bert from Brewer

Should have held out a couple of more days for the gifts.

Welcome back.

Welcome back,
Your dreams were your ticket out.

Welcome back,
To that same old place that you laughed about.

Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they're turned around.

Who'd have thought they'd lead ya (Who'd have thought they'd lead ya)
Here where we need ya (Here where we need ya)

Yeah we tease him a lot cause we've hot him on the spot, welcome back,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

Bert, thank you for sticking with us. I am confident that your absence would nearly ruin this forum. You are unique and very much appreciated by all.

Thanks from me also. You really are the glue of this forum.

Bert,

I hope you get the idea that you, as a person, mean a lot to this board. You are extremely knowledgable, but more than that, you have given many of us hours of your time, on the board and in conversation. Thanks again.

Tom

^^^^^ That ^^^^

Greg

Ah yes. Some TLC is what Bert needed. WELCOME BACK BERT-MAN!!!

mwa! mwa! (It's ok for you to say "yuck".)

Hey Bert,

Welcome back! Can't imagine the ACUB without you.

This is very good news. I'm not sure which is better....having AC or having Bert to talk to/listen to/learn from about all things AC. So glad you are back!
Nancy

You guys are amazing. Unbelievable. My mother didn't give me this much praise. Well....she did, only she said it to everyone else.

Maybe I'll quite once a month. And, the board would have gone on, there just wouldn't have been anyone to have:

Flame wars with James
Talk endlessly about client/server and SBS
Been the only one to not like the Brother MFC

Seriously, had I turned off email notification in preferences, I wouldn't have come back. Well, not this soon anyway.

But, Bert, where is Mighty Mouse? I vote for his return.

I seem to be on a childhood character theme today.

Bert,
I just now logged onto the board.
I am going to pretend that I did not read you were coming back, so I can also express my thanks for your tireless contributions to everybody on the board as well as to me personally when I had questions about converting paper to AC. Looking back,I am now not sure if I would have been able to set up my AC without your advice and help.

Bert,
I am glad you are able to stay. Please take care of yourself. You are quite appreciated