President Daniel Gochenour said it best…..
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news with you of Tom Malinowski’s sudden passing. Tom has been the Director of Respiratory Therapy at UVA Health over the last five years. He held the same role at other hospitals in Virginia including Mary Washington and Inova Fairfax. He has been published countless times as a researcher and served on numerous committees through the AARC, CoBGTE, CSRC, and the VSRC. He was President of the CSRC and also served two terms as President of the VSRC. This year he was named the Specialty Practitioner of the Year by the AARC for his Leadership and Management. This list is no way inclusive of all of the roles, titles, and achievements he earned as a respiratory therapist.Tom had a true passion for life and a passion for everything he did. We were fortunate as a respiratory therapy community that he put his passion towards our profession. We have benefited greatly from his drive, intelligence, and the belief that respiratory therapists can do anything we want if we are committed. Our last conversation before he left our office for the long holiday weekend was about a bike he just bought. You could see the excitement he had to spend some time with another passion of his. On Monday, he passed away while out cycling, enjoying life, enjoying a passion.
In his AARC quote from being awarded the SPOY Tom said, “I feel very privileged to have worked with an extraordinary number of outstanding respiratory therapists in a variety of different care environments. One of the best perks to being a respiratory therapist is knowing that regardless of your interest, you can contribute and find a way to show the value of the respiratory therapist to health care.”
Be passionate for what you do, be motivated to achieve more, and be more like Tom.