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| Damaged trees from December ice storm |
From my window, I see the fallen tree limbs from the Dec. 12, 2008 northeast ice storm. It was the worst ice storm in 25 years. We lost power for two days, but we are very appreciative that we have a warm house to live in the rest of the year. In the health policy arena, there appears to be a thaw. A new administration, coupled with the fact that we are in the midst of a recession, makes one wonder if it presents a unique window of opportunity for health system reform. Do you sense the excitement, the hope, the impatience?
A group of Section members is working and collaborating with at least one other section to articulate the CHPPD Section (and possibly APHA) position on Health System Reform. Please do contribute your ideas in the CHPPD-APHA Collaboration Projects wiki initiated for this purpose. You are also invited to participate in a free Webinar on the Role of Community in Health System Reform on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 3 – 4 Eastern Time. We would appreciate receiving registrations by Thursday, Feb. 5, so we can send you access information in time.
On behalf of the Section, I thank Sue Myers, past chair, who worked with Section members to articulate a vision and mission and initiated the innovative Webinars. Many members, including Helena Vonville, Darrel Montgomery, Bob Griss, John Steen, Anne Umemoto, and the panelists and participants worked with Sue to make the Webinars successful.
A CHPPD member told me that the 2008 San Diego Annual Meeting was the best she had attended in the last 20 years. She says maybe it was combination of the weather, the pace, the quality of presentations; she could not identify the specific reason. None of the CHPPD Section chairs were able to attend the Annual Meeting in 2008. Special thanks to Chair Elect Amy Carroll-Scott, past membership chair EmyLou Rodriquez, Student Chair Ashley Wennerstrom, past program co-chair Roy Grant, Program Co-Chair Danielle Green, Policy Chair and Governing Council Whip Shari Kinney, acting photographer Lynn Kotranski, past Webmaster Tom Piper, Newsletter Editor Elizabeth Schiffman and all the members for coordinating Section activities at and before the event. Congratulations to Azzie Young for leading APHA members in crafting a Call for Education and Research into Vitamin D Deficiency/Insufficiency. Now Azzie’s question becomes: We have a Vitamin D APHA policy on the books. How do we translate this into national policy?
Dan Gilbert, in his entertaining book Stumbling on Happiness, takes the bold step of fulfilling his psychologist’s vow, which is to complete the sentence: "The human being is the only animal that…". Psychologists who finished it with "can use language" were proven wrong by chimpanzees taught to communicate with hand signs; those who finished the sentence with "uses tools" were shown to be off the mark by chimps using sticks to extract tasty termites from their mounds. Dr. Gilbert says: The human being is the only animal that thinks about the future. He makes a distinction between acting like you think about the future, such as in a squirrel conditioned to bury food for winter, and actually thinking about the future, such as if a chimp were to turn down a Fudgicle because it already looks too fat in shorts.
I appeal to your human side. Thank you to those of you who 
have committed to lead the Section. The Section still needs help. Contact Chair-Elect Amy Carroll-Scott before Feb. 7 if you are interested in being nominated for Section and Governing Council positions. To be nominated for APHA leadership positions, contact Karen Valenzuela and Ann Umemoto before March 22. Also, please join the CHPPD Insider wiki and tell us how we can influence the future of our community’s health.
Regards, Priti Irani, Chair, pri01@health.state.ny.us