Meet Some Amazing Americans

By: Katie Couric
Topics: Field Notes

(CBS)

There's so much bad news making the airwaves these days that we wanted to celebrate some solutions. I'm very excited about "The American Spirit" series that starts tonight. We're highlighting great people doing innovative things in the country. It's part of a continuing series we plan to feature here on the Evening News.

Tonight, we're profiling Janice Brown, the superintendent of schools in Kalamazoo, Mich., who came up with a concept called "America's Promise." She spent five years schmoozing and talking with wealthy people in the area. She convinced them to contribute $12 million every year which allows every kid in Kalamazoo to go to college. They get a free ride if they maintain a "C" average and attend the school for a period of time. After four years they get 65 % coverage, and it goes up the longer they're in the school system.

The program has caused a ripple effect that has brought a lot of new families to Kalamazoo, transforming a depressed city and giving it a shot in the arm. Janice hopes after they're educated, these kids will want to come back and, as one student told me, "return the favor."

That's just for starters. Throughout the week, you'll meet other amazing Americans: people who saw a problem and took matters into their own hands to do something about it. They are also very selfless. These are men and women who are working for the greater good. We're lucky that they're smart enough to recognize a problem and realize they have the talent to help fix it.

But these stories are just the beginning. In the months to come, we want to highlight more people who are not getting the attention they deserve. And we need your help. If you know of anyone who fits the mold please e-mail us your ideas (please write, "American Spirit" in the subject line). Meantime, watch the series and tell us what you think. We look forward to hearing from you!

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by petersemkiw February 7, 2007 11:22 PM EST: Dear Katie, I also thought that the segment on Dr. Berwick from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement was very well done and informative,and it's great that you and the CBS Evening News have recognized his important work. There is room for improvement in the health care system, and many of us may not be aware of the problems. It's good to have an insider like Dr. Berwick to watch out for things inside the hospital environment,and all of us need to know about the problems also, so we can press our government representatives to take action about them and, if possible, do something ourselves as well. The segments on Janice Brown and James Simmons were very well done and informative as well! "The American Spirit" is a very good segment!; Reply to this comment


by ItzTrisha February 6, 2007 10:32 PM EST: Katie,

Excellent story tonite on Dr. Berwick from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He is clearly a man with a passion for his mission and is to be highly commended for his work on behalf of patients.

It may surprise you to learn that there are dozens of "us" out here who work to help patients -- outside the traditional and dysfunctional healthcare system. We are all advocates for improvement in the care patients get -- not because we believe anyone WANTs to harm patients, but because the system is not set up for good medical care to be the norm.

And surprisingly, perhaps, most of us are not doctors or healthcare workers. From Josie King's mother, Sorrel (Josie was cited on your broadcast) to Patty Skolnik in Colorado (whose son died in the hospital from bad medicine) to Helen Haskell in South Carolina -- and even to me -- there are many of us who work on behalf of patients because we, or our loved ones, have suffered at the hands of the medical system.

I am so very pleased to see Dr. Berwick getting the recognition he deserves. I hope you will continue to do stories that show how health and medical care can be improved, despite the current dysfunction, especially at the grassroots level.

Trisha Torrey
EveryPatientsAdvocate.com; Reply to this comment