Archimedes Movement November 2009 Newsletter
In this newsletter:
» Director's Update
» Upcoming Events
» The HeArt of Healing
» Conference Feedback
Liz BaxterThis has been a big year for the Archimedes Movement. When the year began we were advocating for Oregon legislation that would align with our principles, such as fairness, equity, inclusion, and all the others. Working with partners and allies, our efforts resulted in a path to affordable health insurance for all Oregonians with stated objectives of the Triple Aim - improved health, reduced cost and better outcomes - WOW! We are way beyond the U.S. Congress and its limited debate on health insurance reform.
We told our legislators that it wasn't enough to wait until people got sick and then pay for them to get medical care. We don't want any Oregonian to lose a job, a home or his or her life because insurance isn't affordable. But in addition, we want to get and keep people well, so that we actually transition over time to a system that supports health as well as providing care in times of illness.
When Oregon House Bill 2009 was passed earlier this year we had reason to be excited because Oregon was – and remains – ahead of the nation in its progress. Last week, listening to members of the newly formed Oregon Health Policy Board talk about their charge at their first public meeting, I was amazed to hear them talk about health and measurable outcomes. It was because of you that these appointed board members said things like: "While focusing on the social determinants of health may be beyond the scope of this board, it is the frame within which the Oregon Health Policy Board is working." Your voices are being heard.
As we look forward to 2010, we have so much work to do and we will need your help again. We are not done, even if President Obama signs a federal health insurance reform bill. It is easy for opponents of reform to erode support by planting fear in every sound bite. And it will be easy for supporters to check health reform off of their virtual to-do list and move on to something else that is pressing.
There is so much more to do. A lot can happen in Congress before one American gets access to the affordable health insurance that Congress is talking about (the House bill implements insurance reform in 2013; the current Senate proposals don't kick in until 2014). We will be pushing for implementation dates to get moved closer – there is no rational reason to wait four or five years to implement these changes. Just the other day, Evan Saulino, MD, mentioned that Medicare was implemented nationwide in 15 months, before the advent of computers and connectivity. We can do better!
Links
» Evan Saulino's Oregonian Guest Column about the bill passed by the US House
» Side-by-side comparison of the House bill and the Senate proposals (Kaiser Family Foundation)
» My recent blog post about the House bill
November Messaging Workshop: David Domke and Crispin ThurlowUpcoming Events
Key to the mission of the Archimedes Movement is developing powerful and effective grassroots leadership. To that end, we continue to schedule leadership workshops around Oregon. (And don't forget, the Oregon Legislature has a short session coming up in February - a great time to practice those newly honed skills!) Please join us at a workshop near you. Here are the links for the next few that are scheduled:
» Leadership Workshop in Corvallis, Dec. 5th
» Leadership Workshop in Bend, January 23rd
» Leadership Workshop in Portland, February 13th
Messaging Workshop: Small group projectIn addition, please note these special events:
» Liz Baxter at the Eugene-Springfield Archimedes Movement meeting on Dec. 2nd
» "Money-Driven Medicine" film screening on Saturday, Nov. 21st in Corvallis
During the summer, a group of volunteers came up with the idea of having an Archimedes Movement project focused on engaging people from the creative arts community. We acknowledge the power of the creative arts in healing and in bringing people together. Members of the arts community are often among the unserved and underserved in our community and we aim to help raise awareness of this important fact. Dubbed the "HeART of Healing," this project has generated quite a bit of buzz among local and regional artists, who launched the project with two events this fall: a benefit concert at O'Connors restaurant in Multnomah Village and a performance art celebration on Halloween night. Both were amazing and we hope you'll watch for more opportunities to interact with amazingly creative folks who share our vision for a system that results in health!
» Read More
Feedback from the 2009 Archimedes Movement Conference
John Kitzhaber: 2009 Archimedes Movement ConferenceThe Archimedes Movement annual conference, Putting Health Back in Health Reform, was attended by close to 300 people and a subset of those attendees completed feedback forms, helping us to capture information about what worked really well, and what we should focus on in the future.
Included in the feedback were many valuable ideas on how to grow grassroots leadership of a health reform Movement.
» Read more and see individual comments
2009 Archimedes Movement Conference
