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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E.SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		Children's Inn Tenth Annual Gala,  Washington, D.C.
DATE:		September 23, 1998

Anyone who has spent time with children certainly knows that their imaginations are boundless. And that reminds me of a story about one of my favorite literary characters: Charlie Brown. One beautiful September day, Charlie Brown and his pals were lying on a baseball mound looking up at the sky-and describing what they saw in the clouds. Lucy said, "There's Madam Curie in her lab making a life saving discovery." Then Linus added, "There's Aristotle contemplating the nature of the universe." And Schroeder remarked, "That's Beethoven penning the ninth symphony." Finally, they all looked at Charlie Brown. He answered, "Well, I was going to say that I see a horsey and a doggie, but I've changed my mind."

One of the things that distinguishes Peanuts from all other cartoons about children is the complete absence of parents and other caring adults. But in the real world, children can't take care of themselves. In the real world, children get serious illnesses and fall victim to serious accidents. And in the real world, they need the loving hands and caring hearts of adults to heal their bodies and spirits.to ease their pain and fears.to provide help and comfort.

As we know, that's what the Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health is all about. It's a place where children can benefit from both the finest health care on earth and the greatest healing power on earth-the love and affection of a parent. It's a place where it's never forgotten that we're not just trying to cure a disease-but to care for a child. And it's a place where it's understood that-unlike in the Peanuts cartoon- families are important for every child-especially those facing painful procedures and terrifying tests.

By opening your hearts and your wallets to this very special place, all of you here tonight have kept the doors of the Children's Inn open for families in need. By doing so, you've given children who must grow up much too fast the greatest gift of all-the chance to still be children, not just patients. It's a gift the Peanuts characters can take for granted-they've remained children for fifty years without so much as even a cold.

But the chance to be children is a gift all children deserve. And if we really want to give each and every child that gift, we must meet two challenges. Our first challenge is to continue to address the needs of every child who currently faces serious illness or disease. This means that all children-regardless of their circumstances-must have access to the finest quality health care we can provide. It also means that all children and their families need to have access to emotional and social "life support systems"-like those found at the Children's Inn.

And while we're meeting the needs of today, our second challenge is to strengthen our public and private support for research-research that will unlock tomorrow's medical discoveries and treatments, so that less children will have to endure the suffering and sadness of serious illness.

Meeting these two challenges will certainly provide more of our children with futures of health and hope. Of course, providing children with health and hope is exactly what the Children's Inn has been doing for nearly a decade. But it still needs our continued support to help calm the tears of children and the fears of parents. Like Charlie Brown-who never gives up trying to kick that football-we must never give up on the Children's Inn, or on our children. And by doing so, we'll ensure that more of our most vulnerable-and most valuable-citizens have the opportunity to grow strong; to reach their potential; and to lead us into the millennium.

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