From the Section Chair:
Hello Friends:

The summer is officially coming to an end. I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer. These past 6 months were difficult for many either as a result of the struggling economy or the variety of devastating natural disasters that have impacted so many parts of our country. As public health professions, many of you have dedicated your lives to helping people and communities in need. Due to the events of the past year, the helpers may, in fact, be the ones in need of help. Our thoughts are with you all.

With all the discussion around the events of the past months, Health Care Reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) are far from the spotlight, a distant memory for some. The APHA recently held a mid-year meeting in Chicago to discuss the challenges and implications of the recently enacted law. Joyce Gaufin, Executive Board member for the APHA and a very active member of the Health Administration section attended the meeting as the HA designated representative. Her impressions from the meeting were presented to your section’s leadership committee at our July conference call. With her permission, her report will be posted to the HA website for our membership.

A subcommittee of the HA membership is actively working on a 3 year strategic plan for the HA section. In part, the plan will help to assure the Section is meeting the needs of its members. As it relates to the ACA, the HA Section is discussing how best to partner with APHA leadership to help shape the implementation and be a resource to all Sections and members of APHA.

Following the HA Section’s values of Vision, Leadership, Strategy, and Action, several key themes from the mid-year meeting are presented here.

Vision:

One of the repeating messages throughout the conference was that we must always remember that we need to describe public health in a way that our partners, communities, and others can understand.  We must focus on words that can instill passion and create movement for change.  An example that illustrated this was the use of the term “take away your freedom,” which is often used by opponents of HCR as a means of making people afraid of HCR.  “Freedom” is a very value laden term.  We must develop greater advocacy for public health. To that end, we must work together to create a national framework on public health prevention and wellness, and develop a model for measuring and reporting health status for the nation.

Leadership:

As health administrators and managers, our members are well-positioned to bring this dialogue into our communities and agencies. The HA section can support all APHA sections, caucuses, SPIGS – any member of APHA to develop coalition-building skills. True health reform will require new partnerships capable of linking resources and people across multiple organizations and industries guided by a common vision and goals. The HA Section can facilitate the creation of this model by first joining together as an organization, tapping into the vast expertise within the HA Section and with others across APHA to develop the necessary framework.

Strategy:

Health reform requires a transformation, a shift from a medical care for individuals to a health care orientation for the population. As Joyce Gaufin reported, Julie Eckstein, from the Center for Health Transformation asked if the debate is about better health or health for a lower cost.  Elements of the discussion include understanding/defining: a) individuals and their health, including social determinants and personal responsibility, b) creating healthy a community for people trying to be healthy and what it takes to be a healthy community, c) ensuring that evidence based care is the standard and how health information technology is inextricably linked to achieving this goal, and d) financing for care; [it is] not if we cover care, but what we are willing to pay for. The HA Section can and should guide a focused discussion to elaborate a meaningful strategy and series of connected strategic objectives related to the above.

Action:

In order to be successful, the HA Section can guide a collaborative series of development efforts to define systems in health care and the necessary skill sets for the new health care environment. Action is needed to train the future public health work force. John Lisco (CDC) described “one of their greatest challenges is bridging the gap between what we do now and what we will do in the future” in reference to the number of training programs available. In addition to workforce development, health care administrators will need support to move beyond the rhetoric. Identifying and sharing best practices, funding and performance improvement will remain key areas of focus for the HA Section in support of all APHA members.

Many have referred to the U.S. health care system as fragmented and socially unjust. As health care administrators we must work to strengthen the relationship between all elements of the “system” and be the elements of change our nation deserves.

On behalf of the HA Section, I want to thank Joyce Gaufin for attending the Mid-year meeting and representing the section admirably. I also want to thank all the members of the HA section, the leadership team and many volunteers for their support of our Section. Be sure to check out our website and our presence on Facebook and Linked-in.

Mark J. Bittle, DrPH, MBA
2010-2011 Chair
Health Administration Section

New members are welcome to contact any of the chairs of the subcommittees to learn more about opportunities to volunteer and network through the health administration activities and programs.

The Health Administration Subcommittee chairs contact info:
Communications: Mr. Raed Mansour
Award/Networking: Ms. Gita Uppal
Program committee: Program Committee – Drs. Vasireddy and Bezhold
Membership Committee – Ms. Vincent
Newsletter – Ms. Georgianne Mitchell
Policy – Mr. Michael Hill