We have some great news to share with you. We start 2008 with a generous grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust to support the core staff and begin building an organizational structure which can support, grow and expand the Archimedes Movement. This follows the outstanding support we received in 2006 and 2007 from the Northwest Health Foundation, which helped to us to hire key staff and complete work on honing our message.

2008 is a pivotal year for us. Over the past few months we have been developing our strategy for transformational health care reform along two fronts. The first is a grassroots community education and engagement process to reframe the health care debate here in Oregon (and later in Washington) from a narrow focus on financing to a wider, critical focus on what we are paying for and how that care is organized and delivered. Second, we will create a safe forum within which we can describe what the "optimal" health system should look like; and identify the obstacles which will have to be dealt with during the transition from our current system to a new one.

The grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust was made to support the community education and engagement process which will seek to build a broad public understanding around four areas:

1. How the current system evolved and why it is economically and politically unsustainable
2. Why the problem is not just lack of "coverage," but rather lies within the system itself
3. Why the systemic transformation change that is necessary cannot take place without first agreeing on a shared vision for a new health care system
4. Why there must necessarily be a transition period to move from our current system to a more equitable, effective and efficient one.

I went over these four points in some detail at a community health forum in SE Portland several weeks ago and we have posted the video of that speech. When you've got time (24 minutes), please take a look at the presentation. I think you will find that there is a way to move from our current system to a better one, but we can only get there together.

Liz posted an update on the website yesterday providing more details about the activities we are working on, many of which involve volunteers who have stepped up to help build our organization.

Thanks to the support from the Meyer Memorial Trust we're adding two positions to support the community education and engagement process. Chapter members will play an active role by participating in screening and interviewing the candidates.

Thanks for your energy, involvement and commitment to our cause. I look forward to working with you in the months ahead.

Links
» Video of John Kitzhaber Speech
» Liz Baxter's March Update