Holidays

The holidays are often a time when we are most busy and least able to manage the additional stress. I was just reminded of this fact the other day when a woman contacted Leadinghealthycommunities.com asking about resources for her mother who had been recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her parents are without healthcare coverage and her father (who only worked part-time due to recent job layoffs) still earned too much money to qualify for state-assistance. She said her family could not afford to pay for her mother's care out of pocket. She was extremely worried about her mother who -- burdened with the guilt of expensive treatment, could not possible be in the right mindset to fight the cancer.



My immediate thoughts were -- who can afford to pay out of pocket for medical care....? Really? When you are talking about such high cost tre treatments, few could afford to pay out of pocket for their own care.

I directed her to a resource group, WINGS in San Antonio, Texas which specializes in helping "low-income" women get screening for breast cancer and if necessary subsequent treatment. And told her I would keep thinking about other resources for her (PLEASE SHARE ANY IDEAS WITH ME AND I WILL PASS IT ALONG). Ever since speaking with her, I have been thinking about the fact that there are so many families who are struggling with this very same problem.

At Leadinghealthcommunities.com we hope to try to make it easier for communities groups to start programs to promote health, expand access to care, or educate harder to reach populations. You can help by sharing information you may have on innovative health programs in your area. We would love to know about them.

Happy Holidays.

New Administration

With the election finally behind us, everyone - from a convenience store owner to the president-elect - is eager to get down to the business of running the country.

Much of the focus will be on the economy and helping Americans dig out from this economic crisis. However, health care will certainly feature prominently in discussions -- as we contemplate helping those who have lost their jobs and in turn their health coverage.

What are your thoughts on how the new Obama Administration can help you in your efforts to improve health? Have you thought about who you would like to see appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services? How can the new administration help you in your work in the community?