Healthcare reform

Lest you think I've completely gone underground, or forsaken yet another blog, I will POP UP (Like daisies!... Name that movie)

I've started a new semester that basically runs on insanity. Work is requiring critical staffing because acuities are ridiculously high for some strange reason. People it's summer! Stay out of the hospital! And then school requires me to cram hours of clinical into an unreasonably short time. Not to mention I have to drive 40 minutes to get to the clinical site... but that's nothing compared to my co-worker who has to get to Traverse City for hers. So I shan't complain. Our newest class has spawned more passionate reactions from me. So I'll post one of our assignments here instead of rambling off complaints.


There is an old anonymous proverb that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. This is remarkably applicable concerning the current state of healthcare reform. Too often, we see a policy created to help one aspect of the problem, which then opens up Pandora’s Box to a myriad of new dilemmas. I would argue that the single most cost effective and efficient solution in the movement for healthcare reform is to focus spending on public health education.

Now this doesn’t solve everything with a snap of the fingers. I realize that what I have suggested is a broad platform. Who specifically do we give resources to? Do we push for health promotion classes in our public education systems? Do we put more money toward school and public health nurses? Should we focus on propagating healthier advertisements? Where does this money come from? However, the real question is whether business, government, and even individuals will realize the value of education.

My point is that all those questions are mute if people don’t invest in the importance of education. People cannot make informed decisions to improve their health until they understand why it is important and take ownership for it. Therefore knowledge equates empowerment. Let me put it another way. In the beginning of life, we provide care for babies because they are completely helpless and do not have the knowledge or ability to provide for themselves. As they grow, we expect them to assume more responsibility because they have grown in knowledge and skills. Imagine you have an infant who is never taught to speak, or walk, or socialize. He is left alone in a bed all day long. The baby would quickly deteriorate and die. We call this neglect. Yet in the same manner, we leave people to fend for themselves concerning their health. You may have been shuffled to the dentist, harped on to eat fruits and vegetables, and enrolled in some kind of sports activity, but not every child has those opportunities. Due to poverty and health inequalities, many children do not have a home environment that fosters healthy living. Where else will they learn these skills and tools to care for themselves unless we offer it in the public health realm?

So, I posit that if investment is not given to public education concerning healthcare, then those in charge can be considered neglectful. Furthermore, if we cannot even provide people with the knowledge for healthy living, how can we expect them to make important decisions on health care policy? To truly change the state of healthcare and provide health for a lifetime, we must empower the people. As that is best accomplished through education, we must put our resources there.