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REMARKS BY:  KEVIN THURM, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE: MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE  COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
DATE: APRIL 27, 1998

Dr. Maupin, distinguished guests, trustees, faculty, staff, families, alumni, and most important, the 1998 graduates of the Meharry Medical College:

My warmest congratulations to each of you.

Congratulations for working hard, for making your families proud, and for being the first class of graduates schooled under the watch of your distinguished president, Dr. John Maupin. I know that he is enormously proud.

I also bring greetings and congratulations from Secretary Shalala, as well as one of Meharry's former presidents - Dr. David Satcher. And I want to recognize another former president of Meharry and my colleague, Dr. Henry Foster.

It is certainly no coincidence that Dr. Satcher and Dr. Foster are now working in Washington. Because the qualities it takes to lead this great institution are the same ones it takes to lead the nation - caring, concern, and a vision for the future.

For you, that begins today.

Now there is only one thing standing between you and graduation: My speech.

I don't remember much about my law school commencement address. But what I do remember about the ceremony was the pride. The pride in the eyes of my parents, especially my father. He was the first in our family to ever receive a college degree, and to graduate from law school.

And I'll never forget the pride in the eyes of my grandparents, especially my grandfather. He came to this country at a very young age. But he never had the chance to pursue an education beyond high school.

I see some of that same pride in the eyes of the families gathered here today. You deserve to be proud. For supporting the graduates. For being patient with the graduates. And for your support, you deserve our applause.

Today, when I look out at the sea of new physicians, dentists, researchers, and other health professionals, I remember something else about my graduation. A tremendous sense of relief ... and achievement. Your achievement is now part of the legend of Meharry Medical College.

I have visited this great institution before. And I have always been impressed by the purity of its purpose: To serve as a beacon - a warm light that fills the heart, the mind, and the soul -- for those left out in the cold.

But I am also struck by how you pass that light onto others. You pass this light onto our inner cities and under-served communities -- where the vast majority of Meharry graduates go on to practice. You pass this light onto our medical, scientific, and health care communities -- wherever you go on to serve. And ultimately, you pass this light onto our entire nation, by showing us that the American dream can come true for all.

I am honored to witness the light of your achievement today. Honored to be standing here with you at this moment. Honored to occupy this stage, where so many giants have walked before me.

You may ask yourself, what kind of advice does a government official from Washington have to offer the graduates of Meharry Medical College? It's a good question, because in some ways I have a lot more to learn from you ... than you from me.

But I have come to Meharry on behalf of President Clinton and Secretary Shalala to ask you for something very important. We need your help. My department -- the Department of Health and Human Services -- needs your help. America needs your help.

Usually, it's the other way around. The way I typically start a speech is by saying, "Hi, I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." And usually, the audience starts looking for the nearest exit.

But today I'm here to say we need you. We need you to play a unique role as guardians of our nation's health. We need you to hold the government accountable - at every level - for improving our nation's health. We need you to help us meet the challenges facing the world of health care. A world you are about to step into.

Today, we are -- in fact -- meeting some of those health challenges. Childhood immunization rates are at an all-time high. Infant mortality is at an all-time low. Cancer is striking and taking fewer lives -- reversing a 20-year trend. Every day, we're finding new and better ways to fight disease and untimely death. This is good news for America.

But not for every American.

Because in too many areas, our nation is still two nations, divided when it comes to health. Divided along the lines of race. Simply put: America suffers from racial health disparities. America suffers from a distinct and persistent gap in health and disease rates between whites and non-whites.

To put a new twist on a well-known quote by Dr. Martin Luther King: the inseparable twin of racial injustice is health injustice.

It is wrong. And it must not stand.

Jump ahead a little bit, and imagine yourselves established in your careers, sitting in your offices. The door opens and a patient walks in. If the patient is an African American male, he has twice the risk of heart disease and stroke compared to white Americans. If the patient is a Vietnamese woman, she will be five times more likely to face cervical cancer than a white woman. If the patient is Latino, his chances of suffering from stomach cancer are 2 to 3 times the rate of whites.

Go right down the list of major killers - and the story is the same. Tuberculosis, liver cancer, diabetes, and for too many others.

And although we know that diet, lack of access and insurance, and socioeconomic factors are among the many factors, we don't know all the reasons for all minority health gaps. But we do know we must act.

We cannot treat the problem of racial health disparities as an unavoidable fact of life - a problem with an elusive solution. We cannot set different national health goals for whites and minority groups.

But what can we do? How can we guarantee the gift of health and hope to all Americans?

It starts when we -- the government and the nation -- stand up and step up. When we demand results. When we demand progress we can measure. When we demand real change in our system and our culture.

We must stop looking at the health gap as a "Latino problem." An "African American problem." An "Asian American problem." A "Native American problem." And start looking at it as an American problem that demands an American solution.

As President Clinton has said: "America can't begin to take pride in our health care system until we know that every American has the best health care in the world."

That's why, earlier this year, President Clinton announced a plan to eliminate health disparities in six critical areas by the year 2010: Infant mortality. Adult immunizations. Cancer screening and management. Cardiovascular disease. Diabetes. And HIV-AIDS rates.

We're not doing this to "address" racial health disparities. We're not doing this to "reduce" racial health disparities. We're doing this to eliminate racial health disparities.

And to succeed, we must also end tobacco's growing and deadly grip on racial and ethnic communities - especially the children.

From day one, the Clinton Administration has fought hard to protect children from tobacco. I say this from personal experience. And I say from personal commitment, the battle against tobacco is a battle we'll keep on fighting - until we reach the day when every child can look forward to a smoke-free future.

But perhaps the best way to eliminate racial health disparities, the best way to guarantee the health of all Americans everywhere, is to invest in you -- the first generation of doctors and health care professionals of the new millennium. That's why President Clinton is committed to support and empower minority colleges and universities -- institutions just like Meharry.

And once again, on this I expect you to hold us accountable.

But as we invest in you, you must invest in yourselves and our health care system. You must be the leaders - the architects - of America's research agenda and changing health care system.

You have the power to be the thinkers, the conscience, and the voice for a health care system that meets the highest standards of excellence, access and quality. A health care system in which brilliant science and diversity go hand in hand. A health care system that embraces technology without losing the human touch. And a health care system that puts patients first and ensures that no one - no one - is ever left out in the cold.

That is a daunting challenge. For you. For the government. For the medical, scientific and health care communities. Indeed, for the entire country.

But as Meharry graduates, the part you must play doesn't end there.

That's because there is someone waiting anxiously for you outside these doors. I'm talking about the children - the future doctors and researchers in minority communities.

Because your measure of success is not only in the lives you heal. But also in the influence you wield. Because you are not merely physicians, dentists, scientists and health care professionals. You are - and will continue to be -- role models in your communities.

Television shows like ER and Chicago Hope can offer children a glimpse of life in medicine - and positive portrayals of minorities in medicine. But TV shows are not role models. They come on only one hour a week. Real role models never go off the air.

Just as Meharry has filled your hearts with warm light, you must be the warm light in the hearts, the minds, and the souls of the children around you.

I know. That's just what you expect to hear on graduation day.

But this challenge should resonate all the more on this particular stage. At this particular college. In your particular hearts. Because there is one particular child whose own heart was filled with a doctor's light and who is now passing it on to millions of people.

It didn't start very promising for this child. The year was 1944. The place, Anniston, Alabama. The small child was lying in bed, deathly ill, stricken with whooping cough. His small body was wracked with a searing cough. His lungs struggled for air. Gathered nearby, his parents, relatives and friends were helpless to provide much more than a prayer.

They were helpless because in 1944 in Alabama, the white hospitals in the county did not admit African Americans. Nor did any white doctors come to see and heal the child.

But it was then -- as if in answer to the family's prayers - that the only African American doctor in the area arrived on foot. With quiet resolve, he calmly set about to nursing the child back to health.

That heroic doctor gave this child much more than a chance to live. He also instilled in the child a burning desire to become a physician himself.

To help those less fortunate than himself. To help people who have nowhere to turn. And that's exactly what happened. And then some.

The child grew to adulthood and earned his M.D. and Ph.D. He went on to open up a free clinic for the poor in the Watts section of Los Angeles. He directed the sickle cell treatment center at the King/Drew Medical Center. He became the President of Meharry Medical College, where he helped revitalize the school's mission.

But he wasn't done yet.

From these hallowed halls, he became director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And finally, this doctor - once a dying child without medical care - was entrusted with improving the health and lives of all Americans - especially those who have nowhere else to turn.

By now, you know I'm talking about Dr. David Satcher, your distinguished former president -- my friend and colleague -- and our nation's new Surgeon General.

The journey to achieve his dream has been long and hard. But the warm light of hope from his childhood carried him. And he passed it on whenever he could.

Earlier this year, I had the honor of attending Dr. Satcher's swearing-in ceremony at the White House. It was a deeply moving event -- for myself, for Secretary Shalala, for President Clinton, and for everyone there in attendance. Dr. Satcher spoke eloquently of his parents, his pastor, his friends, and all those who helped him on his path to success.

And he also said this: "The American dream does not end when it comes true. Achieving this dream presents a new challenge - to give to others the chance to achieve their own American dreams."

Perhaps one day, one of you will become the Surgeon General of the United States. But even if none of you do, every one of you has the same chance to help and inspire others, in whatever path in life you take.

So I ask that you help me by accepting the same challenges that faced Dr. Satcher at his own graduation from medical school.

Take real pride in all you have accomplished. Use your gifts - your rare gifts -- to improve the health of families and communities throughout the nation.

Always demand the most from yourselves.

And finally, rejoice in the people you serve, the craft you perfect, the children you inspire, and the wonderful careers you are about to begin.

I know that power - that warm light of health and hope -- resides in each of you.

So use it. Share it. Heal with it. And pass it on.

Pass it on.

1998 graduates of Meharry Medical College: Congratulations, good luck, and Godspeed!