The post-election song playing in my head is from my vast collection of roots and blues music. It’s entitled “I Have Dreams to Remember.� Why this one, instead of the many inspirational songs that this historic election and its hope for the future might engender? Somewhere in the mix of my euphoria with management of expectations is a core of doubt that has been formed by years of jaded cynicism and studied caution. A couple of the questions spawned by this state of mind have been:

How can I begin to believe again after so many years of shocking disbelief and the evidence of so much that has just been wrong in terms of national leadership and intrinsic justice?

How does the defining personal direction that began with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream� visionary call to social change and the halting journey between then and now reconnect to the “Yes We Can� vision and challenge laid before us today?

Clearly this is the mandate of the people who showed up and pulled the lever for new hope and direction and a desire to participate in the building of a new way of doing things. The dream I remember is captured in the five principles of social justice…both nationally and globally. Best expressed by the Global Justice Movement is the following definition:

There is a Source of all creation which has endowed the absolute values of Truth, Love, Justice and Goodness which represent the ultimate ends of human actions.

All people are raised and live in total interdependence in a sequence of time and as such are entitled to:

• Have warmth, clean air, medicine, clean water, food and housing;
• Be respected, equal, free and able to choose their own destiny;
• Fulfill their full emotional, intellectual and spiritual potential; and
• Have implemented the five Justices: Monetary Justice, Social Justice, Economic Justice, Environmental Justice and Peace Justice.

As a trustee of a delicate biosphere whose carrying capacity we have a duty of care to sustain, every person must respect the rest of creation and take responsibility for preserving the environment including the fauna and flora all of which are interdependent and share a divine origin with humanity.

The rights of the individual include the rights of liberty, secure incomes, access to productive property through an expansion of capital ownership and trusteeship, access to the commons, free markets, and the secret ballot, while the responsibilities of the individual include a continual concern for the rights and interests of others.

There is a hierarchy of human work: The lowest but most urgent form of work is for sheer personal survival. The highest form of work is improving the social order including relationships with others and doing work the soul must have.

True political democracy can only be built on the foundation of true economic democracy. It is the duty of democratic government to secure the results the people want from the management of their public affairs as far as such results are physically possible and morally right.

Whatever is physically possible is financially possible through appropriate democratic and just transformations of society’s economic institutions.

As I read and reread this description of the architecture for change and true social justice, I try to push aside the fundamental internal response of “this is an impossible dream.� Is it a dream that can change some of the harsh realities of the world…poverty, racism, classism, oppression, cynicism, and greed? YES! Is it an achievable dream? The only way to find out is to join forces under this rubric and try. One thing I know for sure. Once upon a time, it was the dream I remember. It is the dream I want to have for myself, my family, my community, and my world.

I plan to renew my personal commitment to this dream that I remember in all the work we do together. It is the standard I wish to set for the energy, resources, and strategies which this organization will employ to try to do our part in achieving the dream.

I look forward to hearing, incorporating, and working toward the dreams of all who join us in our work and mission. No matter what we accomplish in the time we are given, the fundamental goal should be the preservation of one tenet of the human condition…all of us – young, old, and in between – must live in a world that inspires us to dream and believe in the possibility of those dreams becoming reality.

By Sharon Baskerville, Chief Executive Officer

When I was forty years old, I experienced one of those life defining revelations. I call it an epiphany, though for many it might seem like a “duh� moment. I was a very busy working mother of four sons – three teenagers and a three-year-old. I was immersed in working at three jobs, racing around to school and athletic events, eliminating diapers and bottles from my life, juggling finances that officially qualified me as the “working poor� – and generally keeping my head down and my feet moving. Every bit of time and energy went into managing a life that for all intents and purposes was filled with things that weren’t working very well. The image of a hamster running on a wheel comes to mind.

Somehow, one day in one of those rare moments of self-reflection, I realized that somewhere in the back of my mind I had been waiting for something or someone to happen along that would rescue me from this marathon. It occurred to me that I was waiting for something that I had never really put into words. Just this nagging sense of surely this is NOT all life was meant to be. Then this very clear stark message popped into my head. I had been waiting all right … waiting for my real life to happen.

As I sat there contemplating this thought, I tried to define who or what I imagined would make that happen. Was it a knight in shining armor that would ride in and save me from an unsatisfactory and dysfunctional relationship? Was it the time, money, and energy to go off to college and get a degree which would buy me a career and a way out of my financial struggle? Would my teenagers suddenly see the light and become self-sufficient model students who cleaned up after themselves, took care of their baby brother, and spent much of their free time making me happy and feeling like a successful mom? My list of questions grew and so did my realization that there was no magic wand that was somehow going to “fix� all that was ailing me. I remember standing up and walking to the full length mirror in my bedroom (a scary action in, and of, itself). I pointed at the woman I saw there and she pointed right back at me. My own voice echoed loud and clear …“YOU are the one you’ve been waiting for!� And changes in my circumstances began to happen.

So why, many years later, do I find myself remembering this one moment in time? It was first triggered by coming across a profound collection of essays by Alice Walker entitled “We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Light in a Time of Darkness.� An emerging inspirational leader, Barack Obama, coined the phrase in one of his soul stirring speeches. I am riveted by the power of this simple phrase.

Health reform and system change – the work of DCPCA – has seen much success but has also been stymied and frustrated by so many pieces out of our direct control. Driving change, working on useful strategies, and then trying to build the political will to gather all the forces together to power true change take enormous skill, energy, political favor, collaboration, timing, and sometimes just plain luck. It takes money too, of course, but just money without the rest of the ingredients sets the stage for failure of many a good idea.

There are a lot of things that need fixing in our city and lots of people are trying to do just that. There are lots of people whose quality of life is compromised because of the things that need fixing. In our schools, we are losing the best and brightest of our future because of the deep fractures which have created huge barriers to maximizing the learning potential and confidence of our children. In our health care and mental health systems, disparity, dysfunction, and disengagement have created huge gaps and yawning chasms we must bridge to the journey of a healthy vibrant community. In our social welfare system, there is a reform and reorganization curve we must get through to stabilize and protect the most vulnerable of our citizens. In our economic booming – amidst cranes erecting beautiful new buildings, housing, jobs, and growth opportunities – there remains huge pockets of deep and crippling poverty that drain the lifeblood from hope and enthusiastic engagement of life.

Do we have all the ingredients it will take – the supreme effort, vision, mission, commitment (personal and aggregate), and money to “fix� what ails us? I think we do. We have to stop pointing fingers and blaming each other… or the mayor or our council members, or the Office of Contracting and Procurement, or the Office of Personnel. We have to stop blaming the rich or the poor, our neighbors, the cops, and DMV. Instead, I hope that we all – in whatever quadrant of the District or neighborhood we live, and in whatever role we play or place we work – stand in front of our respective mirrors and point at the one who will help make all this happen. I mean, of course, all the “YOUs� who will make the one powerful “WE� that will make the tipping point for change. Pack your bag lightly, make sure you have some source of sustenance, take time out to play and refresh, make sure you laugh and cry regularly, and most importantly, hold lots of hands along the way.

As always, I find my last thought here inspired by these deeply sacred words of some Native American Elders of the Hopi Nation:

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour.

Here are the things that must be considered:

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know our garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel like they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off toward the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

See who is there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves!
For the moment we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lonely wolf is over.
Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

The Elders, Oraibi, Arizona, Hopi Nation

We hope to shake your hands and celebrate with you in many ways along our collective journey as a city. Especially, I hope you’ll join us for DCPCA’s 11th Annual Meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, whose theme is… you guessed it: WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! I promise great information, good conversation, a healthy dose of inspiration and celebration – and maybe even a surprise or two!

RSVP for DCPCA’s 11th Annual Meeting!
WE ARE THE ONES WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

The stories you read in AND STILL WE RISE: Stories About the Journey for DC Health Care Reform are collected from telephone and in-person interviews, transcribed remarks from DCPCA’s 10th Anniversary Annual Meeting, “And Still We Rise: A Family Reunion,� on October 25, 2007, and written reminisces collected from friends and partners of DCPCA. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it at (202) 638-0252 (ext. 246) to order your very own 44-page tribute book.

AWI 2008/2009 Recruitment BBQ
Friday, August 1st - 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm
PPMW Ophelia Egypt Teen Center, 3933 Minnesota Ave. NE
Interviews and Application Forms On-Site

Directions to AWI BBQ

WHAT IS AWI ABOUT?
AWI stands for Adolescent Wellness Institute. AWI works with DC teens between the ages of 14 and 21 to develop leaders in our city. AWI challenges you to think about your life and

your community by focusing on WELLNESS and SOCIAL JUSTICE. You do independent work, go to classes, workshops, and workout sessions, and build community with other AWI teens to help

you build up the positive forces in your life, and the lives of people around you. AWI wants to give you the support you need to be a leader and create change in DC.

In AWI, you are expected to:
1. Come to weekly AWI Saturday Sessions, 11 am to 3 pm
2. Do at least 3 hours of AWI Workout Sessions per week
3. Work with your Project Mentor for at least 2 hours per week
by phone, e-mail, or in person

AWI IS A JOB.
AWI pays a $50 weekly stipend for participation. If you don’t show up, or don’t participate, you don’t get paid. If your participation or behavior is a consistent problem, AWI Staff

will consult with your peers about consequences – including removal from the program. It’s fun, but it’s tough. If you stick with us, you’ll reap the rewards – recommendations for

jobs and school, mentors and professional contacts to help you get where you want to go, opportunities to meet other teens, travel across DC and across the country, and a stronger

sense of who you are and what you can do with your life.

WELLNESS AREAS.
In 2008/2009, Staff & Mentors will work with each AWI teen on a year-long Project focused on one of our Wellness Areas. You must choose one area and come to us with an individual

project proposal at your interview in August. When the program begins in September, you will have time to develop a concrete plan for your Project with your Project Mentor.

When choosing your project idea, use your head and your heart: What topic is most interesting to you? What issue do you feel most affects you, your family, or your neighborhood?

What are you passionate about changing? What are you passionate about learning or doing with your life?

AWI WELLNESS AREAS for 2008/2009:

ï‚« BODY - Physical Health, Fitness, Nutrition, Cooking, Sexuality, HIV/AIDS, Gender (Male/Female) Issues
ï‚« MIND - Mental Health, Counseling, Stress, Mediation, Conflict, Violence, Anger Management, Abuse, Family
ï‚« COMMUNITY - Social Justice, Advocacy, Policy, Race, Civil Rights, Environmentalism, Immigration, Criminal Justice, DC History, Neighborhood Development/Gentrification
ï‚« MONEY - Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Financial Literacy, Micro-Lending, Economics, Poverty
ï‚« ART - Visual Art, Music, Creative Writing, Journalism/Photojournalism, Video Production, Website Design, Social Networking/Web 2.0 (MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)

Fill out the 2-page AWI 2008/2009 Application form. For more information, contact Ms.

href="mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ">Lee Paczulla at (202) 638-0252 (ext. 235).

By Sharon Baskerville, Chief Executive Officer

I’m tired. That’s what I thought when viewing a short video interview shot of me for a recent conference of funders which had a presentation highlighting the work of DCPCA through Medical Homes DC and our health reform efforts. The purpose of the video was to showcase people in the metropolitan region who were “sparks� for innovation and change in their respective fields. What my very critical eye saw was a middle-aged woman showing signs of the wear and tear. The day-to-day struggle to represent the mission and passion of an organization engaged in a very long journey of knitting together all the disparate threads of plans and strategies to try to make whole the cloth of a health care delivery system that will provide high quality rational access to preventive and primary care for everyone who needs a medical home regardless of income or insurance status, appeared to be taking it’s toll. Is the picture I saw really reflective of how I feel, I pondered?

NO WAY! Hearing the Maya Angelou poem “Still I Rise� echoing in my head, I crammed that video into the darkest recesses of a desk drawer and set about framing my own video in my head. It opens with the panoramic panning of shots of beautiful health centers scattered over the District in all the right places.

The waiting rooms and exam rooms are full of savvy patients and dedicated, unharried health professionals getting and giving the right care. Grandma’s having her blood pressure checked while Mom is getting her annual pap smear and breast exam. Down the hall, Junior is getting his sports physical for basketball while baby is awaiting her well child and developmental exam. Yea…her immunizations are up to date. Dad is over in the dentist chair getting a cleaning and a filling while Grandpa is nervously awaiting the results of his prostate exam. It’s so good he came in early. The adolescent waiting room is packed with teens actively engaged in a conversation and demonstration about safe sex. They’ve all had HIV screening and brought some family members to be screened as well. The nutritionist is just finishing up her class on how to navigate a diabetic diet. Auntie is over talking to the therapist about her depression and how to manage some of the stress in her life. The right care is happening in the right place, and at the right time.

The next shot shows the nearby hospital emergency room. The pace is efficient and ambulances move in and out quickly with people in need of real emergent care. The ER waiting room is uncrowded and people in need of admitting are moved to rooms quickly into the care of a full staff of nurses and specialists. The ER doc has been able to access a master patient index which shows him where the woman in Bay #3 gets her regular care and what medications she currently takes. The primary care doctor has been notified and will be in touch to help coordinate care. She’s assured that she’ll know what happened to her patient and be able to do good follow-up to help avoid another emergency. ONLY the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

I blink…time for reverie over…another meeting to attend…another hill to climb…another group to educate…another strategy to develop. So how do I continue to be a “spark� to make sure my video becomes reality? Well, some make-up, root touch-up, and a great outfit will go a long way next time someone comes at me with a camera… but beyond that?

It is by remembering and reminding myself that at each step of this long journey…we estimate we are in year four of a ten year marathon of change…we have to pause in the midst of the work and celebrate the steps. Keeping our eyes on the prize is important but acknowledging each careful, well planned step keeps us from stumbling. Thinking in terms of each small step to the finish line rather than the leaps over chasms and distance yet to travel keeps the energy sufficient for the task. I remind myself, too, of the importance of stopping along the way for rehydration because sometimes it can feel like a vast desert.

Some of the steps have names: Electronic Medical Records, ER Diversion, Community Health Workers, Quality Culture Series, Capital Projects, Risk Management, Increased Reimbursement Rates, Integration of HIV/AIDS Care, Oral Health, Mental Health, Captive Insurance Malpractice Company, Health Professional Loan Repayment Program, etc. Somewhere along the line, we have told you in detail about each of these critical steps and how they move us closer to where we are trying to go. If you don’t know what any of them are and how they fit into the map, please ask.

There are many more steps on that map yet to come. They all require time, energy, strong support, and unwavering tenacity. They all depend on our partners willing to stay for the long haul. We want to have you with us for the entire trip. It is how the spark stays vibrant and we need YOURS to shine.

Stay Tuned! Film at 11.

As we built our annual budget this year, I was struck by one very stunning fact. DCPCA – and particularly Medical Homes DC – has been powered by the consistent backing and support of our foundation community who have collectively invested significant funding into the work of health care reform in DC.

While DCPCA has been successful in garnering support from the city coffers in order to implement the vision of building a system of care which offers access to quality community based health care to DC residents regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay for care, the District’s investment came with a daunting requirement to match those dollars with fifty percent of private dollars. It was this seemingly insurmountable task around which our local funders rallied. Led by Margaret O’Bryon, of the Consumer Health Foundation, and Kathy Freshley, of the Meyer Foundation, there began a concerted effort to match and leverage that initial city investment to ensure Medical Homes DC got the jumpstart it needed after years of planning. Their persistent championing of the vision and work made the realization of our three year funding target of 7.5 million in matching dollars a success.

The formation by local funders of the Health Working Group has been catalytic in not only moving the issues of health reform in DC forward, but also launching a regional gathering of groups working on increasing access to health care and eliminating disparities in health outcomes. This convening of our collective strength, knowledge, energy, and ideas is a way of spreading and sustaining the individual efforts of each of the regional partners to maximize the return on funding investment. It is a unique and effective approach to making sure the dollars granted make a difference.

I owe a personal debt to these funders as well, to the people behind the dollars. I have lived in this town for almost thirty-four years. The first ten or so of those years, I was a poor woman with a family struggling hard to make ends meet . . . and a “recipient of services� – both public and private. My own demoralizing experiences as someone who had to be dependent on the “kindness of strangers� fueled my own passion and commitment to try to change some parts of that world. Back then, I had no idea how those places that I went to for help got their resources, but I suspect some of the same funders I work with today were part of my support system then.

My personal journey led me to working in a health center for the poor and marginalized. And yes, we were dependent on donors to keep our operation going. While it was important and fulfilling, my own realization that I was being called to working on broader reform of the system that would be permanent and sustainable led me to my current work as DCPCA’s chief executive officer. I have been blessed with the investment of several of these funders in my own personal development as a leader and reformer.

Along the way, I came to know and respect program officers who have to field and make decisions on the many requests for funding from organizations trying to do good work. It is, I am sure, a Solomon-like experience, trying to make funding decisions among myriad requests for support. But they also came to the same sort of decision that funding needed to be directed to not just specific direct service programs but also to the work of broader system reform. The mission of DCPCA could not have survived were it not for that decision.

The leverage our funding community has provided to the significant work of health care reform has had an impact on not just the present but the future of a healthy DC. It has made what was once a dream of equity not just a possibility but a probability.

And for that . . . my deepest thanks. I stand in awe of all that you have done. I wish I could name you all here . . . but you know who you are!

It has been a month since DCPCA’s 10th Annual Meeting and it’s about a month till 2007 is nothing more than a memory. As I was on a little vacation break over the Thanksgiving holiday, I spent some time looking back on the year thus far, and forward to what 2008 will bring. It feels a little odd. So many things we have worked on for years feel like they are on the horizon of success, while new challenges await strategies, work plans, and fresh energy. Straddling these two sides of the work is always a test of how well we stretch, balance, and juggle. It’s really an art to stay grounded in the world of competing priorities, interspersed with putting out fires – or starting them.

My reflection leaves me with the sense that we have laid a strong foundation for the mission we set out to accomplish – that of facilitating the creation of a strong community-based primary care delivery system that guarantees access to all and eliminates disparities. The bedrock of this foundation is the planning and soon-to-be building of new or expanded community health centers. The year 2008 means we finally will put some shovels in the ground. By this time next year, six of our health centers will have installed and implemented electronic medical records, opening so many new doors to streamlining practice management, maximizing revenue, and creating the groundwork for a new world of health information sharing. Simultaneously, we have begun the three-year Regional Health Information Organization to connect health centers, hospitals, the Department of Health, Medicaid, and other insurers in an effort to share health information more efficiently.

Project-wise, we have a rich collection of pilots meant to test out some strategies we believe will help strengthen a better system of care. In 2008, we embark on our Emergency Room Diversion pilot project, placing community health workers (CHWs) in the ERs of two local hospitals, to try to help people who have come to the ER for something best treated in a primary care setting get connected to medical homes. Because we believe that an essential strategy to change the community’s health-seeking behavior must include a well-trained and empowered cadre of community health workers, we will continue the training of CHWs with a curriculum tested successfully this year. Our efforts in 2008 will include creating a certification venue at a local community college and some workforce demand to get this effort recognized as a critical component of the continuum of care.

Quality assurance and performance improvement are the buzzwords of the future in health care, and we have provided support for clinical excellence in our health centers over the years with some degree of success. In 2008, we will embark on a three-year process to measure and refine the efforts to embed a culture of quality and continuous improvement in the primary care setting by providing the necessary tools and strategies for support and transformation. We hope to corral the many efforts to improve and measure quality into a continuous performance improvement process which becomes a model for the future.

Our policy shop has some major wins, a few losses, and many efforts still to be determined. The successful legislation for the DC Health Professional Loan Repayment Program is being implemented and local funding increased to help shore up and strengthen the health center workforce. We hope to deliver the long sought after federal matching dollars every that state, except for DC, has in 2008 to create a one million dollar annual pot of loan repayment funds to attract and retain a wide range of health care providers to serve in high need areas. The creation of a vehicle to help subsidize medical liability insurance in our health centers has almost reached fruition despite many lurches along the way, and should become a reality in 2008, thereby easing the crippling burden of malpractice insurance costs on our health centers. We also hope to see the successful creation of a Department of Health Care Finance in the coming year. We are monitoring and expect to see improvements in the DC HealthCare Alliance, managed care in general, mental health services expansion, and major strides in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention. We have standing committees and working groups in all these areas.

Now my head spins and aches a little, and I wonder the wisdom of returning to work. Maybe, I muse, I could just go find a bookstore to run with quiet customers reading in the coffee bar. The reverie lasts only briefly. I get a call making sure that I am coming to a meeting on Monday. I go through my e-mails and makes notes on who I need to call and what needs tending to. I make my to-do list of competing priorities for the week that I return.

And I think about that day a little over a month ago when so many people gathered at our annual meeting. I remember being inspired. I remember being so proud to be a part of this work we do. I remember a community-sing where, without too much hesitation, folks stood up and raised their voices and their hands and made a joyful noise, and Harvey Sloane discovered that he could sing. I remember stories… so many stories… words from the past, reminiscences from so many shared journeys of the struggle, passion, and desire to deliver good health care to people who didn’t or couldn’t get it. I remember gathering over food and honoring some of the shining stars who have made so much good work possible. I remember children getting up and speaking to us about how they were finding some support and direction from some of the programs many of us created. I heard them say they wanted to be able to live a well life. I heard their challenge to us to fix things, to make things work, to do a better job, to give them a reason to hope. I remember the sight of masses of people standing together talking, sharing, and joining in camaraderie.

And I remember Maya… walking with assistance to the podium looking frail… then rising up and singing of Joshua and bringing down the walls. She spoke of the care of the heart and that all care of the heart was primary care. She spoke of the trials of growing up and the triumphs of inspirational success. She spoke especially to the children, but in that moment I felt like we were all her children. She said, “If I could just bend you over and blow all of what I know and believe into your ear.� She said… you’ve got to keep moving… there is much work to do… and we need you. I remember lots of tears and lots of people moved deeply. And I knew the day was ending with some renewed energy and passion to make sure the work we are doing to reform health care in DC was going to keep on moving. We were commissioned to be Joshuas and to bring the walls of dysfunction and disparity down.

So, on Monday morning after Thanksgiving I returned to the fray. I know you all did, too. I find no way better to start the rush towards the holidays than to take time to say thank you to all of you. I am counting all the times I used the word community in this little missive. And that’s just what we are… a community of Joshuas and I have no doubt in my mind that we will bring the walls tumbling down.

By Sharon Baskerville, Executive Director

Almost forty years ago, I read a book that had such a deep impact on me that I still remember it today … the way you remember life changing events like births, deaths, and first loves. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” inspired and grounded me, and laid the path for a life journey I could never anticipate. I couldn’t tell you why now, or even articulate how, but discovering the world of Maya Angelou created a deep well that I could return to time and again throughout the next forty years for wisdom, direction, and rehydration; bread for the next leg of the journey.

In the early part of this year, as is our way, the conversation about DCPCA’s Annual Meeting was scheduled. Lee Paczulla, who is tasked with coordinating the event, sits down with me for the arduous task of prodding me to define the “vision” that will shape the theme for this important yearly event. Lee comes armed with a notebook, pen, and the patience of someone who has learned to sit and listen to my ramblings and somehow extract the essence of what she hears me speak … not an easy feat as many who know me can attest.

I am full of memories that morning – many evoked by the reunion of the Washington Free Clinic and the Whitman-Walker Clinic, which had occurred a few weeks earlier. For those of you who missed it, WFC, which originally gave birth to Whitman-Walker (formerly the Gay Men’s VD Clinic), laid its head down gently for the last time in January, while its staff and patients were welcomed into the newly expanded vision of Whitman-Walker to become a full service primary care provider with profound expertise in HIV/AIDS care. I experienced it as a passing away of a proud matriarch and the birth of a new generation of care and compassion.

So, I am a bit maudlin that morning and feeling my age. I am telling stories – my own and those of the people with whom I have shared this journey of health care for the underserved and health reform. The musing allows me to see just how very far we have come from those early beginnings – long before there was a place for us at the table. In many ways, the journey of those of us who make up the mission of DCPCA has created our own table, one that many now recognize as a table of wisdom and solution to much of what the District and its people struggle with in the health arena. I mosey along what has been this shared journey and savor the richness and fabric of the faces and passionate commitment of people called and determined to serve, to heal, to make better the lives of people in need.

It’s been thirty years of journey for me, the last ten of which have been the profound privilege of providing leadership and a gathering place for the road warriors of health care for the underserved. Ten years I say … so it’s time for a celebration … the Jubilee year – a time for remembrance, a time for coming home, a time to tell the stories.

Lee smiles … the smile of the tolerant and tenacious … and says, “Kind of like a family reunion?” “YES!” I exclaim. Family reunions, where the scattered who are related gather to honor the passing away of some, the birth of the new ones, and to mark the struggles and accomplishments of those in between. Out of the struggles and challenges of thirty years, out of the work and vision of the last ten, and with a strong sense of the enormous challenges that remain, this DCPCA 10th Annual Meeting will be a time to celebrate the stories, mourn the losses, and stand together strong for the future work still to be done. On that day, I hope, we will stand as one, united in shared vision and renewed energy, and in the words of Maya Angelou, shout, “And Still I Rise!”

So the vision having sprung, I turn to Lee and try to explain how this whole thing, my path in life, has been nurtured and sustained by the words of Maya Angelou and one of my greatest wishes was to someday meet her. Maybe inspired … maybe worn down by two hours of listening to me wander through my mind … Lee stands, and with tears in her eyes says with the true conviction of a twenty-three year old, “I’m going to get you Maya Angelou!” She turns and leaves and I chuckle at the impossibility of what she has just promised, but amused and touched by her passion. So, I sit here eating humble pie … she said she was going to get me Maya … and so she has. Thanks Lee! It is an extraordinary thing to give someone their dream.

Click here for more information about DCPCA’s 10th Anniversary Annual Meeting.