January 22, 1999

James J. Mongan, MD,
president of the MGH.

MGHers gathered in the MGH Chapel for a service of reflection and song to honor the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday Jan. 15.

Sponsored by the Association of Multicultural Members of Partners (AMMP), the event featured several MGH speakers who talked about King's legacy. Kim Clarke, AMMP membership chairperson, welcomed the audience and gave a short biographical summary of King's life. Rev. Ana Ruth Higbee Barzola, of the MGH Chaplaincy, discussed King's role as a religious leader; Deborah Washington, RN, director of Diversity for Patient Care Services, reflected on King's dream for equality; and Denella Clark, AMMP chairperson, gave the closing remarks.

Keynote speaker James J. Mongan, MD, MGH president, talked about his first experience seeing King speak when he was a medical student at Stanford and reflected on what it means to him today.

"I think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us how to accomplish a great deal," he said. "He also taught us how much more we have to do."

Mongan put King's lessons into the context of MGH's own diversity initiative by discussing the progress the institution has made and the work it still needs to do. He listed some of the hospital's accomplishments, such as creating the hospitalwide Diversity Committee, promoting culturally competent care and doubling the number of interpreters to better serve and communicate with the diverse patient population at the MGH.

As an employer, the MGH is working to strengthen diversity among its staff through recruitment, education and career development initiatives. The hospital also is striving to play a greater role within the Boston community by meeting with city leaders and learning how to be a more accessible resource for minority groups.

Mongan concluded by saying, "Dr. King was not just a leader for African-Americans – he was a champion teacher for all of us."