Tidal Basin
E P I L O G U E
A R E F L E C T I O N
INTRODUCTION
” I am certainly not an advocate
for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions.
I think moderate imperfections had better be borne with;
because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them,
and find practical means of correcting their ill effects.
But, I know also, that laws and institutions must go
hand in hand with progress of the human mind. As that becomes
more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made,
new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change
with the changes of circumstances,
institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times.
We might as well require a man to wear still the coat
which fitted him when a boy, as a civilized society to remain
ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
“I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished.
The test of our progress is not whether we add more
to the abundance of those who have much;
it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)
“The ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. “
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)
All three quotations may be found, inscribed in stone, at their respective author’s Memorial, arranged around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. Each can be viewed easily during a walk lasting about 2 hours. The time really depends on the impact that you experience while integrating the expressions of these three giants within our nation’s heritage with the current turmoil occurring among our nation’s institutions.
Amid this awareness, one can only worry about the risks to our nation as we encounter the current turmoil occurring throughout the world-wide community. Given the heritage of these three men and the challenges of their time, may we now acknowledge anew the traditions of our nation’s destiny. Beginning with a national recognition that the HEALTH of each person immediately after birth will encounter worsening life-long disruptive forces, community by community.
What then is the true role of healthcare reform as we refurbish our nation’s destiny for the benefit of each person’s HEALTH? Basically, the traditions of our nation’s healthcare industry are valid. A new strategy will be required to modulate these traditions to achieve fundamental healthcare reform. The new strategy must revitalize the social cohesion associated with these traditions, community by community.
Referring to the social cohesion concept, our current healthcare institutions will require an investment of caring relationships, community by community, to improve the Human Dignity of each person. This investment should apply the Design Principles that are already defined for successfully Managing a Common-Pool Resource (CPR). For healthcare, its CPR represents the portion of our national economy devoted to health spending. These Design Principles were formulated and validated by Professor Elinor Ostrom (2009 Nobel Prize, first woman awardee).
A new semi-autonomous institution, Chartered by Congress, should be established to incubate community-based, collaborative processes for promoting sufficient levels of national social cohesion, community by community. The Design Principles would define the functional character of this new institution, NATIONAL HEALTH, with GOALs to solve the cost and quality problems of ou nation’s healthcare. Remember now, our nation’s 1969 trip to the moon. A national renewal of its “MISSION TO THE MOON” commitment is now required, revised for healthcare reform.
Our nation’s future survival will require it. Citing Thomas Jefferson, the cost and quality deficiencies of our nation’s Primary Healthcare might now be described as barbarous or “…having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality.” (60) Remember again the trends of our nation’s maternal mortality ratio and health spending. Truly, a renewal of the “MISSION TO THE MOON” for healthcare reform continues to be over-due!