Title: Fall Message from the CHPPD Chair -
Time of Great Sadness, Time for Action
Author:
Section/SPIG: Community Health Planning and Policy Development
Issue Date:
Just as we were entering the exciting months before our APHA Annusl Meeting, and we were all finalizing our plans for the New Orleans visit, a storm of awesome proportions turned the lives and property of the Gulf Coast region to shambles. I have since watched in horror and disbelief, then numbness and all of the other emotions of the proverbial seven stages of grief as the events have since unfolded.
Although a time of great sadness at the loss, it is also a time of great opportunity for us, both personally and professionally. The immediate response was very important, and the long-range commitment to the cleanup and rebuilding, not just of possessions, but also of spirit, will be equally, if not more, important. The time and money we initially invested has been an impressive demonstration of the American willpower and survivability. We must also examine how we can do even better, and plan activities and policies for the future that make health care even more reliable and responsive to people’s needs, both urgent and ongoing.
As I have repeatedly said before, communication is one of the most important things that we can work on this year. This takes many forms from local and state interaction to annual face-to-face conference contacts. We had an emergency CHPPD Leadership conference call on Sept. 9 to share our perceptions and start laying foundations for future actions. This will be followed up by a continuing planning dialogue on our CHPPD Forum, a new branch of our Web site, which can be accessed by any Section member at <www.chppd.org>. It is our intent to convert frustration into energy, which can be constructively channeled into supportive actions for everyone in need.
The Annual Meeting has been moved to Philadelphia on Dec. 10-14, a time when some prior registrants can’t come, but others now can. Now is a more important time than ever to take this opportunity to network with your colleagues of interest, to share your thoughts, to examine your frustrations, to evaluate our path, and to recommit to a brighter future. I hope that you will join me in December at our sessions, our business meetings, our reception and our many other events to reinvest together. Visit <www.ahpanet.org/CHPPD> for more details, and enjoy the new look and functionality of our Web site.