We Can Change the World!

Two North Riverside Plaza sits among other high rise complexes on the side of Chicago’s theater district. Sitting in a conference room on the 11th floor, I am surrounded by heroes of health care for homeless people.

Dr. Jim Withers is the founder of the International Street Medicine Institute. Dr. Dave Buck of Houston is developing hand held electronic medical records systems that can be used on the streets and communicate with hospitals in real time. Joe Benson, a formerly homeless veteran sits in his wheelchair and represents the Homeless National Advisory Committee. Linda Sheets is the Director of Operation Safety Net in Pittsburgh. Our host is Richard Kincaid, a wildly successful businessman and the founder of the Because Foundation.

We are discussing health care reform policies and developing strategies to advance medicine and delivery systems in a world that is changing. We are determined to influence some of that change to help the poor, the mentally ill, and the fragile populations who will soon have insurance for the first time in their lives.

We have been meeting seriously for more than two years and in that time over 160 nurses and doctors have come together forming a movement of medicine on the streets. In spite of what the President and those people in Congress say, health care reform isn’t rocket science. It is far cheaper to take health care to where people need it than require them to go to a hospital. It’s as simple as that!

In practice anyway.

Politically, socially, and from a policy perspective we have built a crazy system that is upside down, has runaway costs, discriminates against those who need it the most, and ensures that the only people who pay 100% of their hospital bill are those with the least amount of money.

The United States does have the best health care in the world, but we have one lousy system of getting to it. My friend Dr. Doug Skelton is optimistic about the President’s health care plan. Maybe. We’ll see.

As we talk through these things, there is a great deal of laughter and jokes. We make fun of policies, practices and ourselves. We also challenge, invigorate and encourage one another. Nothing is created inside of a box. Creation always occurs outside of one! We are trying to create.

After about two hours, we all have a collective “Ah-Ha” moment! “Oh,” we say to ourselves,” pretty much at the same time, “that’s how you do it!”

And we laughed at the simplicity of it all.

Then we quickly grew serious again and started rapidly discussing the practical applications and the economic benefits. We gave one another home work assignments and will meet again this October in L.A.

I’ve always been questioned as to why I participated in meetings such as this. When I was at Union Mission, they felt that I should be giving my time to Union Mission. Well, I was. They just didn’t know it.

Jesus said by giving yourself away you find yourself. It is a good principal. By helping others, you help yourself. It may be a contradiction, but again, it’s not rocket science. And I don’t believe that Jesus ever built a rocket.

I’ve learned far more through experiences such as these that not only helped Union Mission, but many other communities around the world. We’re all in this together, after all.

Graham Nash’s song “Chicago” kept playing in my head as Jim and I find a bar after the meeting.

“Won’t you please come to Chicago for the help that you can bring? We can change the world! We can change the world! And make it better!”

I believe that.

But it means crawling outside of whatever box you have yourself in and joining a community of believers to do it.