Community as Care: Solidarity, Whole Person Care, and Lessons from the Peer Medical Foundation

hole Person Care (WPC) is, at its core, a relational practice, requiring attention to not only symptoms or diagnoses, but to the emotional, social, moral and existential dimensions of patients' lives.However, within contemporary healthcare systems-which prioritize efficiency, specialization, and quantifiable outcomes-the relational aspects of care are frequently marginalized. Healthcare providers committed to WPC often experience a dissonance between professional values and systemic incentives, creating a persistent tension between what is ethically desired and what is institutionally supported.This structural misalignment has tangible consequences.Relational labour, emotional presence, moral reasoning, and engagement with lived experience are often undervalued or rendered invisible.Clinicians, educators, and health professionals committed to WPC may therefore encounter isolation, moral fatigue, and a subtle erosion of meaning over time.