Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2014 - (Page 14)

federal cabinet-level Public Health and Prevention council, chaired by the US surgeon general and guided by the office of the Surgeon general's national Prevention Strategy, also presents a groundbreaking occasion to identify and encourage such opportunities because of the participation of high-profile cabinet-level officials in its work (office of the Surgeon general 2011). current policies can also be evaluated for increased health promotion. for example, Baxter (2010) observes Government funding can that physical education play a key role in allowing and nutritional content of local public health agencies food in schools are covered in school wellness polito carry out their core cies required by the child functions as well as actively nutrition act and by many contributing to the types state laws, but "without local school champions of community partnerships and active parental involveenvisioned here. ment, good intentions often have been undercut by failed execution or compromised by competition for space in the school day for other subjects." 3. Strengthen Governmental Funding for Population Health Improvement at All Levels While federal, state, and local budgets are currently stressed, public health and prevention efforts deserve serious attention as the economy recovers. Prevention expenditures are below demonstrated cost-effective levels in classic prevention investments (trust for america's Health 2008). also, considerable variation is seen across states and counties for essential services that are taken for granted by many of us, including the accessibility of food, environmental quality, and infectious and chronic disease control. government funding can play a key role in allowing local public health agencies to carry out their core functions as well as actively contributing to the types of community partnerships envisioned here. Specifically, a 2012 ioM report recommends setting national targets for cost reduction and improvement in life expectancy, establishing a consistent cost accounting system for public health agencies to provide reliable cost data, doubling the investment in governmental public health from $12 billion to $24 billion, ensuring that all public health departments provide a minimum package of public health services, and raising these resources through a healthcare transaction tax (ioM 2012). it should be noted, however, that these resources are only those needed for governmental public health and do not include investments required in other sectors for other determinants. 4. Focus on Philanthropy Many private foundations, such as the california endowment and the robert Wood Johnson foundation, are increasingly focused on developing comprehensive neighborhood pilot strategies for health improvement. Similarly, community social service agencies can play-and are playing-increasingly critical organizational and financial roles in catalyzing health business models at the community level. Part of the mission of United Way Worldwide, for example, is to "galvanize and connect . . . individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and governments [to] create long-term social change that produces healthy, welleducated and financially-stable individuals and families." Some communities have historical patterns of substantial philanthropy that could be emulated elsewhere. 5. Engage Corporate Business Leaders employers have a rich history of philanthropy, but they also have a stake in a 1 4 * f ro ntier s o f h ea lt h s e r vic e s ma na g e m e nt 30 :4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2014

Table of Contents

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2014