Letter from HA Chair Gretchen Sampson

Greetings Colleagues:
I am honored to be the new chair of the APHA Health Administration Section. It was exciting meeting many of you in Philadelphia at the APHA Annual Meeting. The energy of the participants at our section business meetings was palpable even at 7 a.m.!  It was rewarding to see so many members interested in moving our section to higher levels of engagement and action in health administration issues. A big thank you is extended to our outgoing chair, Bud Nicola, and our past chair Tricia Todd, for their outstanding leadership and service to our section the past few years.

One of my goals as section chair is to recognize members in our section who are doing outstanding work in their practice areas. Please note the information in this issue about our section’s awards process and seriously consider nominating someone you know who is deserving of recognition. Another goal of mine that is also shared by many other section members is to increase our section’s advocacy efforts on important legislative issues. Our section members have been working intensely on an APHA policy statement focusing on critical issues in funding of state and local health departments. This work has clearly demonstrated the passion and commitment our members have to public health and has definitely showcased their expansive expertise on the issue.

Many of our members attended APHA in Philadelphia and presented cutting-edge scientific sessions. It was exciting to see our section so well represented at the national level and involved in sharing their public health expertise with colleagues around the nation and world.  I encourage HA Section members to submit abstracts for this year’s upcoming APHA meeting in Denver. For those in our section who have never attended APHA, make it a point to go at least once in your professional career. You will find it a stimulating experience and probably decide to make it an annual journey.  Plus, it is just plain fun networking with your public health colleagues and meeting new people!

Check out our section’s new Facebook page featured in this edition. I look forward to talking with many of you during the “Ask The Chair” week promotion!

Warm Regards,
 
Gretchen Sampson, RN, MPH