What Makes Archimedes Tick?
People ask me all the time why I think the Archimedes Movement is different and what we are doing to help get legislation passed. For me the answer is simple - we've created a place for dialogue where everyone has a place at the table; we're increasing the number of...
Invitation to President Barack Obama
[Over 2200 individuals and nearly 50 organizations signed-on to this letter from Gov. Kitzhaber. The letter was received by President Obama on February 4th, 2009. Below the letter is a list of the organizations that co-signed this letter.] Dear President Obama, It is...
Transparency and the Archimedes Movement
On Tuesday, after watching the new President's inauguration speech, I felt such common ground with him and his image of our potential, especially in talking about the values that we hold in common. When we founded the Archimedes Movement in January 2006 it was with...
Hope, Expectations and Helping
“...nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change." — Barack Obama, 2008 speech in New Hampshire Across this nation and around the world people watched the election of our nation's new president. Hope and expectations are high but...
My Mom’s Story
On September 30, 2008, Liz Baxter testified before the Oregon Health Fund Board. The Archimedes Movement's comments were delivered by David Pollack, representing our Community Leadership Council. That left Liz free to tell this story as a way of emphasizing that we...
Comments on Oregon Health Fund Board Report
On September 30, 2008, John Kitzhaber testified before the Oregon Health Fund Board about their draft plan for health care reform in Oregon: For the record my name is John Kitzhaber, representing myself, although I was asked to make a brief statement on behalf of the...
Powerful Forces Afoot
Today, powerful and unprecedented forces are driving the U.S. health care system. These undeniable demographic, economic and technological forces have put enormous pressure on the way medicine has been practiced over the last 50 years and have disrupted traditional...
The Triple Aim and Key System Elements to Achieve It
System objectives ("The Triple Aim," as developed by by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) Improve the overall health of the defined population Reduce per-capita cost Improve the individual patient experience in terms of clinical outcome, patient safety and...
Strategy and Actions
I hope you are all enjoying the Oregon summer, now that it has finally arrived. I want to begin by thanking everyone who attended our first annual Archimedes Movement Membership Conference at Lewis and Clark College on June 14th. As you know, our movement is...
Archimedes and the Oregon Health Fund Board
We Oregonians are known for blazing our own trail. Did you know that in 1907 Oregon was the first state to elect a US Senator by a direct vote of the people? Prior to that, only state legislators could elect our Senators. We value the process of public input and make...