Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center

Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation convenes leaders to discuss health care reform for third year

On April 7, 2011, Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation hosted its Third Annual Health Care Symposium. This year’s event focused on, “Balancing Access, Experience and Cost in a Shifting Environment” from the perspective of the “six Ps”: Purchasers, Payors, Providers, Policy Makers, Patients and Public Health Professionals. While a year ago we lauded the passing of health care reform, this year we grappled with how we effectively tackle the new and existing challenges of the health care field.

Pictured at right, Mary Lou Hennrich asks a question to the panel.

 

Pictured at left, from left to right, Bruce Goldberg and Jack Friedman.

The event was opened with moderator, Kathleen O’Leary, RN, MPH, Public Health Administrator of Washington County remarking on the impact of Health Care Reform. She emphasized the idea of all health care being local, explaining that health care “begins with the air we breathe and the food and water we consume.”

The idea of access to health care beginning at a local level was further echoed by keynote speaker, Dr. Bruce Goldberg, Director of the Oregon Health Authority. Dr. Goldberg outlined some of the current challenges of the health care system, noting that while in the last decade the number of the uninsured has increased and costs have doubled, no one is healthier.

Dr. Goldberg established a theme of wellness and preventive health care services as a core value of the changing needs of health care. “We need to change the way we deliver care,” he said, “Not the way we finance it.” Dr. Goldberg remarked that we are in the midst of a unique wake up call and we have the opportunity now to make a better system to deliver care to Oregonians.

The dynamic and diverse panel continued the discussion through their different perspectives. While representing unique viewpoints and coming from different backgrounds, they shared many commonalities of opinion. Manuel Goty of Nike offered his perspective on the importance of focusing on wellness and preventive medicine. This attitude was shared across the panel, including the impact of the triple aim approach. “No other organization is implementing the triple aim better than Virginia Garcia,” stated Joe Robertson, MD, President, OHSU.

The gravity of health care costs was felt by no one more than patient and Center Board member, Chris Alker who estimates that 20% of his paycheck goes towards health care costs. And as Virginia Garcia provider, Tanya Kapka, MD, MPH commented, many patients are shouldering the burden of health care access and cost, on top of other challenges. Despite the struggle many patients face, Dr. Kapka impressed upon the guests that “Health care access is a human right that makes ethical and economic sense. Marginalizing poor people is incredibly costly.”

Pictured below, Center CEO Gil Munoz and Center COO, Maria Loredo.

Jack Friedman, PhD, CE of Providence Health Plans; completed the panel discussion by appealing for more patient-centered care, further supporting the push for a more empowered patient and lower health care costs. Although the panelists represented six distinct viewpoints and are affected by health care reform in six unique ways, the Symposium proved the universality of several basic ideas including lower costs, better health outcomes and innovative solutions to achieve these goals. As Dr. Robertson declared, “We all need to work together and share our strengths. We have an innovative spirit in Oregon and we can be successful."

Thank you to all who helped make Virginia Garcia’s Third Annual Health Care Symposium a success! To view more images from the Symposium click here.