Health Care Summit at ULM
Originally published February 15, 2004 in The (Monroe, La.) News-Star
Health care, education, and economic development are the three pillars of success for any state. In that respect, Louisiana is no different. If we want to prevent more companies from leaving, if we want to build an expanding economy, if we want to keep our young people from going elsewhere to find jobs, we must focus our collective energies on health care, education, and economic development.
Not surprisingly, they all work together. That's one of the many reasons that the University of Louisiana at Monroe is hosting the Governor's Regional Healthcare Pre-Summit. Governor Blanco has called a statewide health care summit for March 3rd and 4th in New Orleans. As part of that effort, cities throughout the state are hosting preliminary regional summits where much of the working material for the statewide summit will be formulated. Information will be collected and assessed and ideas created at the regional level. Leading health care reform from the bottom up instead of from the top down ensures that our needs and concerns in northeast Louisiana are heard. This is our opportunity to make sure that the highest levels of government in Louisiana hear extensively from northeast Louisiana about the state of health care today and where we want it to be in the future. Our voice must be heard in this process, and for that to happen, we must convene knowledgeable and experienced people from all around the region.
The regional summit will occur on Wednesday, February 18th, at ULM's conference center on the 7th floor of the ULM Library. The summit will last from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The governor has requested that all stakeholders attend, including: self-advocates, consumer advocacy organizations, employers and employer trade associations, health care providers and their trade associations, insurance companies, health science educators, reform advocates, and elected officials.
Anyone who is knowledgeable in the areas of working with the uninsured, Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, and long-term care should plan to attend the meeting.
The group is charged with answering six fundamental questions about the challenges that people face when using the health care system, the needs of our people, the strengths of our regional health care system, the gaps we have, and how government spending should be prioritized. These questions will be approached in an open and honest way, and together we will explore these challenges and what we can do to mitigate them.
To facilitate the meeting, Linda Holyfield has helped us secure Dr. Eric T. Baumgartner as facilitator. He is one of Louisiana's and the United States' foremost health care experts. Dr. Baumgartner is the policy and programming specialist for the Louisiana Public Health Institute and has made a career of leading public health agencies and organizations. His expertise will help guide the summit through the questions and draw out our best efforts in preparation for the statewide summit in New Orleans.
This effort is vital for us in northeast Louisiana and for the entire state. The governor's health care summit will be the base upon which is built years of reform efforts and realignments of resources.
As host, the university is responding to the needs of the community in this effort as we have with the region's economic development efforts. We invite every stakeholder to come to ULM for the regional summit and voice your concerns, your ideas, and your passion.