Happy New Year!
[For a long time it has been posited that the Chinese ideogram for crisis is made up of two symbols, one meaning danger and one meaning opportunity. I understand this may be a fallacy, however, that misunderstanding meets my needs for this letter, so read on.]
It is 2009, a year that starts with the world in crisis.
Crisis as written by the Chinese is danger plus opportunity. 2009 is indeed a time of danger, given the state of the world’s economy and the state of international tensions around the world; it is also a time of opportunity, with a new administration entering the White House.
2009 is also the Chinese year of the ox. I think the ox is a good sign for the times. According to lore, those born in ox years tend to be painters, engineers and architects. 2009 will need all of our creative thinkers, builders and inventors to facilitate our getting through these challenging times.
I am optimistic, and I don’t believe that I am alone.
I can’t attribute all of my good feelings to a new administration, although some of the things may be related. Some of the good feeling has to do with having enjoyed a great annual conference. We had some truly wonderful events including the “Evening with…Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein” and our Donabedian Award Winner, Robert Brooks. Our Student Award presentations were outstanding. New members joined us at 7 a.m. business meetings, and inactive members have re-engaged. Health Reform is back on the nation’s agenda, and the Medical Care Section is ready to jump into the fray. The Obama transition team is asking for input, and our members are weighing in. Single payer was not mentioned in the moderator’s packet for the house health forums, but it was included in the reports coming out of those forums. Our voices will be heard.
Optimism makes us believe that things are possible and that things can change. Optimism gives us the energy to try again.
By the time you are reading this we will have held our annual mid-year meeting at APHA headquarters. I know some of you will attend for the first time. Thank you. We will, hopefully, have submitted 1-2 (or more?) policy papers for consideration by the JPC; we will have identified roles the Section will play in APHAs health reform efforts; formalized our slate of candidates for Section and APHA offices; identified new ways in which Section membership can benefit our members, and….
I am optimistic about our potential for growth and our ability to influence the health reform debate both within and outside the Association.
I am optimistic, and I don’t believe that I am alone.
I invite you all, as I do each time, to get involved with the Section, and with APHA, as much as is feasible given your time and monetary constraints, in whatever ways best suit your needs and your strengths. I invite you to reach out to other colleagues and invite them to join us, to join APHA. We benefit through the sharing of ideas and the forming of new friendships and new collaborations, through our increased voice within the Association, and through the Association’s increased voice within the national dialogue.
It’s a New Year, a new beginning -- crisis that includes opportunity. I am optimistic.
Gail