Latest News from Volunteers in Medicine

April 2010:

Authentic Patriotism
by Stephen P. Kiernan

Three years ago I went looking for a particular kind of American: someone who faces our society’s toughest challenges head-on, a person unwilling to wait for government to fix everything, someone eager to commit to a larger purpose, and an individual who can articulate how life improves when you work to benefit others.

I traveled the nation’s four corners hunting for people to profile in my book Authentic Patriotism, which comes out May 11. I found exactly what I was seeking – in Hilton Head.

America is in rough shape: economically, militarily, and in the well-being of our communities. Our health system is a prime example, with the world’s highest costs but not nearly the best results. And millions of Americans simply go without.

But some people are not content to watch problems passively. At the Volunteers in Medicine clinic I witnessed the antidote for a nation adrift: I saw respect for every individual, starting with the bilingual greeter at the front door. I saw caring attention toward people of all ages, races and economic conditions. And I saw benefactors and volunteers uplifted by serving others in need. Such civic spirit is precisely the medicine America’s unhealthy culture needs.

My book tells the stories of some amazing people: researchers nearing a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease, a lawyer who has used DNA evidence to free 250 wrongly convicted people, a multi-ethnic choir whose spectacular singing proves what racial harmony can accomplish, and more. But none of them expresses the value of serving others better than the man who founded Volunteers in Medicine.

I went looking for authentic patriots. I found Dr. Jack McConnell.