Health Administration’s Communication Committee survey link
This quarter's Getting to Know our Members features Katie Pine, one of our newest student members.
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.
From the Section Chair:
Dear Friends:
The Health Administration Section is as active as ever. Building on the momentum of our past, the Section has many recent accomplishments to share for which we should all be proud.
There are two active policy workgroups focused on timely and relevant topics in public health and to health administration. One workgroup is focused on accreditation and the other on public health workforce development. The former submitted a policy draft entitled “Public Health Accreditation as a means to strengthen Governmental Public Health Systems in the U.S.” If you have had the opportunity to read the most recent edition of The Nation’s Health, you know how important this topic is. The latter workgroup is currently working to develop the framework of this policy with plans to submit for 2011-2012 policy cycle. Thanks to all the members of the HA Section who are active in this process, especially Bud Nicola and Maria Rubenstein for coordinating these important efforts.
Gretchen Sampson, Brian Martin and other members of the Section are actively working on updating the Section’s multi-year Strategic Plan. This effort is designed to provide a framework for the HA Section to continue innovative development, member support, as well as assure alignment with APHA’s goals. In conjunction with this, the HA Section’s leadership committee recently approved the 2011-2012 work plan, which lays out the tactics necessary to achieve the Section’s goals. The Strategic Plan will be discussed at one of the business meetings at the Annual Meeting, so please plan to attend.
The Communication and Membership committees are energetic and very active this year. These committees collaborated on the development of a member survey, a link to which is included in this newsletter. I encourage all members to take a few minutes to complete the survey. The results will of course be shared and used to enhance the HA Section’s ability to meet the needs of its membership.
The Annual Program Committee, under the guidance of Vamsi Vasireddy and Maureen Bezold, has completed its review of the 196 abstracts received for consideration this year. As a result of their efforts and the interest in the HA Section, between 150-160 presentations will fill 36 sessions at this year’s Annual Meeting.
These are but a few of the significant accomplishments so far this year. Members of the Health Administration Section are phenomenal, and it is because of them that our Section remains productive and strong. The HA Section is also very fortunate to have active student members. Thanks to our student liaison, Raed Mansour, and many others on the leadership team, we have a number of student members participating on or leading the various committees and work groups. These are truly amazing individuals in their own rights and as chair, I want to thank them on behalf of the leadership team for all that they do in support of public health and the HA Section. You will read about one such student member, Katie Pine, in this issue of the HA Newsletter.
As the Section’s leadership considers the current and future role of the Health Administration Section within APHA, I am reminded of the work under way at the federal level to enhance the integration of human services activities and programs. The term for this is interoperability, which David Hansel defines as “putting clients at the center of the service spectrum and eliminating barriers between programs to make them easily navigable.” He goes on to say that “true interoperability among programs will require new strategies and approaches, and sufficient time to implement.” Not mentioned, but central to success in my opinion, is the need for knowledgeable and caring public health administrators. The Health Administration Section will continue to look for innovative ways to not only keep our membership well-informed, but to actively engage the talent and wisdom resident in all of you to move the HA Section forward.
You can find minutes of our leadership and committee meetings, the Section's 2011-2012 Work Plan, and other resources on our website below with links to the website on Facebook and Linked-In. http://www.apha.org/membergroups/sections/aphasections/healthadmin/
Stay involved and stay tuned, much more to come.
Mark J. Bittle, DrPH, MBA
Chair, Health Administration Section