CHC is a great place to work, where many strong friendships are built. Yet at times, we sadly have to say goodbye. Today, there are two goodbyes we need to say. The first is to Fran Fagan, who done wonderful work for us as our practice administrator in New Britain, and has always brought joy and laughter. Today, CHC wishes Fran Fagan the best as she heads off to a new opportunity. We will miss her. We also say goodbye…
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Robert Wallace, Chair of the Institute of Medicine Committee that recently released its report and recommendations “Living Well With Chronic Illness: A Call for Public Action”. The report addresses the burden of chronic illness and suggests changes in public health policy and practice and how the country addresses chronic illness.
Last week’s CHCChat, a weekly, Twitter-based discussion about various topics in community-oriented primary health care, was about Health Promotion. The World Health Organization defines Health Promotion as “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health”. First International Conference on Health Promotion was held in Ottawa back in 1986. It recognized important prerequisites to health like shelter, food, education, sustainable resources and social justice. It struck me as I read this that Health Promotion isn’t…
This week on Conversations on Health Care, Mark and Margaret speak with Jamie Heywood, Co-Founder of PatientsLikeMe, an online medical data-sharing portal for patients experiencing a variety of diseases. He is also founder of the ALS Therapy Development Institute, a nonprofit biotech research organization seeking a cure for Lou Gherig’s Disease. He talks about his goal of transforming medical care through patients sharing in-depth data with the public and the medical community to facilitate better treatments and disease outcomes.
Wednesday, Congressman Joe Courtney visited the Community Health Center in Enfield, CT for a frank discussion about health care, after participating in two forums about the successes and continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act at other venues in the district. He was joined by HHS Regional Director Christie Hager as well as several state legislators. This was not the typical dog and pony show focused on a tour of the facilities, photo ops, and sound bites. Congressman Courtney and…
This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with former Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle, now co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center. Senator Daschle discusses the Center’s recent report, “Transforming Healthcare: The Role of Health IT”. He outlines the steps that need to be taken to speed up the transition to universal use of electronic health records and digitized health information as a fundamental preface to real health care reform.