Health Care Day Focuses on Local Solutions

Class 26’s Health Care Day provided a sobering look at end-of-life issues—in caring for individuals and, perhaps, for the overhaul of the health care system. And it prompted the class to focus on local solutions that can improve the health of the community, regardless of what happens in Washington, D.C.

Visiting Nurse Service’s Hospice Care Center provided a compelling portrait of the commitment to human dignity and care that typifies Akron’s health care landscape. Hospice advocate Mimi Hunt told her powerful story of saying good-bye to both her parents, and how Hospice brought dignity to that difficult situation.

The focus then shifted to the national level and an insider’s breakdown of health care reform, provided by Carol Johnson, a leading health care policy analyst in Washington, D.C. Johnson highlighted the various shapes that health care reform could take and what that could mean for states and communities.

Throughout the afternoon, the class emphasized what they can do to improve the health of our community, regardless of what happens in Washington. This begins with ourselves and those around us, as the class learned in reviewing their fitness screening results and exploring ways employers can encourage wellness. It also means thinking creatively about aligning community institutions and assets. An afternoon panel with Dr. Frank Douglas of the Austen Bioinnovation Institute, Dr. Jay Gershen of NEOUCOM, and Dr. Margaret Wineman from The University of Akron College of Nursing highlighted this. In the course of their conversation they discovered a shared aspiration to create a new model for providing care to the underserved, what Dr. Douglas called a “Nike moment”—that is, just do it!

That spirit of action carried through the final panel of the day with executives from the three major health systems. While known for competing with one another, they agreed that their respective success positions the Akron area as a leader in quality and cost when compared to other areas of Ohio. And they noted that through efforts like the Austen Bioinnovation Institute and public health, there are tremendous opportunities for partnership. The day ended with a call to action, involving class members and the executives in a commitment to explore expanded collaboration among our health care systems. It provided a fitting punctuation to a day that centered on finding local solutions for what remains a national challenge.