During this last year a number of people have been working to uncover our section’s history. This is being done both by digging through the archives at APHA, a project being managed by Vonna Henry; and uncovering our living history – a coordinated effort to interview past leaders of the Health Administration Section. The Living History project is being managed by Linda Landesman. Following are brief descriptions of both. Out of the efforts of many volunteers will come two documents – both will be available at APHA, and later on the Health Administration Web site.
Looking Back – A History of the Health Administration Section
Health Administration members Vonna Henry, Paiker Sayed and Tricia Todd as well as APHA staff members Fran Atkinson and Karla Pearce have all spent time in the APHA Archives digging through old files, pictures, journals and conference programs. From all the digging, we have attempted to piece together something that describes at least a part of our history. Digging about in history uncovers a number of things that are quite fascinating. Perhaps the most noticeable thing is that the more things change the more they stay the same. There were an amazing number of conference sessions from the early 1900s with titles that could easily be transferred to 2008. Titles such as:
- Public health – past, present and future, by Dr. H. W. Hill (1912).
- Modern health administration: An analysis, by Oscar Dowly, MD, president of the Colorado State Board of Health (1913) .
- What should be done in control of Degenerative Diseases? FS Crum, PhD, assistant statistician, Prudential Life Insurance Company Newark, N.J. (1919).
- Report of Committee on Standardization of Public Health Training, (Chairman) Dr. C.E.A. Winslow, New Haven, Conn. (1920).
- The Place of the APHA in PH and the part the Health officer can play, George W. Fuller, Consulting Engineer, N.Y., N.Y. (1928).
This is just a sampling of some of the sessions and reports that were presented at APHA meetings by those who were members of what is now the Health Administration Section. And while our digging never found a compiled list of all the names the Section has held in 100 years, we have pieced together, as best we can, a list of what we found in Annual Meeting programs, proceedings, journals and newspapers.
A Living History – a compilation of thoughts, ideas, reflections from past leaders of Health Administration
The Living History project was a phenomenal undertaking of Linda Landesman as project coordinator, and Gita Uppal, a very new member. The project involved organizing nine students from the Student Assembly to interview leaders from Health Administration. Those students also deserve special recognition:
Anna K. Bryant
Nicole Dickelson
Jennifer Jordan
Julie Nguyen
Yaw Amoah-Poku
Edna Primas
Paiker Sayed
Michelle Silas
Reigh Simuzoshya
The students interviewed a total of 44 leaders. The results of those interviews were sent to Linda, and she painstakingly reviewed the responses and wove them together into a document that reflects the thoughts, ideas and reflections of those leaders.
Leaders were asked to reflect on a number of topics such as what do health administrators do?
For Dillep Bal , health administrators “keep the wheels of public health moving. Everybody is attracted to the operational end of public health. Public health administration is not the sexiest discipline, but it is absolutely necessary. Health administration ensures that we get resources for what has to be done and that the bureaucratic barriers to smooth operation are minimized.”
Elizabeth Trevino stated that “the important functions that health administrators contribute to the field is a quick assessment of problems, finding effective solutions and carrying out implementation of the same. As health administrators we are in a position that we can make things happen.”
Georges Benjamin sees health administrators “helping public health practitioners become better decision-makers in managing a crisis. Also figuring out what a 'win' is.” Georges encourages health administrators to “celebrate your wins no matter how big or small. Some people get over obsessed with what is the right thing to do. Historically, we are a group of competitive people in which we feel as though we need to win.”
Leaders were asked to reflect on the contribution the Health Administration Section makes to the field and to public health. Some of the identified contributions included preparing guidelines for practice, promoting credentialing, serving as leaders by example, and mentoring the future workf orce.
Leaders were also asked to reflect on what you need to be successful.
Jacquie Duerr believes in being a continuous learner. “Fill your kit bag as full with as many skills and knowledge sets as you can. Take huge responsibility for the work you do, but understand success has many mothers. I have learned that it is my obligation to set the stage for teamwork, to find the incentive to get the best of each individual. Public health belongs to the public; everyone has a role in improving public health.”
Bernie Turnock explained his perspective. “I think the most important accomplishments are what you leave behind - a vision, plan and capable people to carry it on.”
Those interviewed were also asked to give advice to future leaders. Lester Breslow said that “there are two greatest lessons that I would want to pass on to future health administrators. One is to listen and the second is to challenge all assumptions and establishments. I advise the future health administrators to listen to constituents and expert advisors and learn from their experience. My second advice is to challenge all assumptions and establishments.”
The full document is pages of reflections on why and how to become involved in the Section, important issues faced by Section leaders and experiences learned through holding leadership positions in HA and APHA. But the focus isn’t only on leaders of the Section. Many other members of Health Administration were asked to reflect on how the field of health administration contributes to public health, and what the greatest accomplishments were these leaders achieved in their professional careers. The final section of the document focused on thinking about the future, and what are the greatest challenges public health professionals anticipate for the future, and perhaps most important, what advice they would give to the future leaders.
Both documents will be available at the APHA Annual Meeting at the event on Tuesday evening. If you have not yet registered to attend our celebration, please do. In the words of Georges Benjamin, we plan to “celebrate your wins no matter how big or small.” Turning 100 as a Section is an important milestone; please register to join us at the celebration on Oct. 28, 2008, 6:00-8:00 p.m. - complimentary appetizers in a fun atmosphere. Register at: http://www.apha.org/membergroups/sections/aphasections/healthadmin/HASAnniversary.htm
If you are unable to attend tbe APHA Annual Meeting, the documents will be made available on the Health Administration Web site after the conference.