You have to recognize that discrimination exists or you'll never by able to do anything about it. As long as we go through this world blindly acting as though we are unaware of the prejudice that exists, then we can not fulfill our God-given responsibility to remove that stigma wherever we see it. We are blessed to be the only country that has people from every quarter of the world in every color and culture. So when the Institute encourages foundations and others to invest in broadening diversity in the health management field, do it with all the pride that you can muster. Because, when we look at our society, at all our failures and successes, no one should be able to say that anyone was denied an opportunity because of their color.
Health care is a great profession.
We'll be living longer and providing more services. We need to get more people to understand that investing in health care is an investment in a healthier America. No sick person will understand us if we say, at a time when we have a budget surplus of trillions of dollars, that we are restricted from expanding services because of the 1997 Balanced Budge Act. We can do better when we work together and when color and culture and religion are not part of deciding what's best for our communities and country. Shirley Wilcher, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor, also presented at the IFD's breakfast.