Dr. Ogan Gurel to Walk for Health Care from Chicago to Washington DC

Editor's Note: Dr. Ogan Gurel is a culumnist for WTN. You can find a list of his columns here.

A grassroots effort supported by individual menetary or in-kind contributions was kicked off last Saturday, June 27, 2009. Dr. Ogan Gurel left Chicago's Daley Plaza en route to Washington DC to launch the Walk for Health Care. He will walk the nearly 700-mile journey intent on drawing attention to the very real stories of hardship and inequity that persist in our health care system. Dr. Gurel plans to meet people along the way and share their stories via his blog, Facebook, and Twitter (@walk4healthcare). He hopes to arrive in Washington on Sunday, July 26th.

“Nearly 50 million Americans lack health insurance; many more are grossly uninsured,” said Dr. Gurel. “Every American deserves healthcare and as a matter of public health, economic security, and simple human dignity, healthcare is a common good.”

Those wishing to support the Walk For Healthcare with monetary donations to cover lodging and meals or are able to host Ogan, should email donate@walk4healthcare.org. The route follows the Lincoln Highway (once a patchwork of private roads, now part of the U.S. highway system) traveling through cities and towns in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

“By the end of the walk,” added Dr. Gurel, “the many stories we have gathered, shared, and documented will provide a compelling narrative which absolutely cannot be ignored.”

Dr. Gurel came up with the idea of the walk not in an effort to uphold any particular policy position or piece of legislation, but rather to bring out the voice of the people and to advance the principles of universality and affordability as a framework for moving the health care debate forward. “Healthcare for all,” Dr. Gurel noted, “makes us greater as a nation and freer as individuals.”