Choosing the right ladder: creating a new model for healthcare

Healthcare in America needs to be fundamentally restructured if we hope to successfully overcome issues relating to cost and health outcomes. This will require a basic change in mindsets. We can no longer think of health as the mere absence of disease, nor can we afford to pigeonhole responsibility for achieving and maintaining health on a community basis. Health is not the responsibility of the local hospital, or the Public Health agency, or the inner-city clinic, or the police department, or the fire department, or the day-care center. It is the community's responsibility. We must be careful as we engage ourselves in this effort not to expect overnight success. Americans are notorious for wanting quick fixes. We cannot hope to achieve that kind of result in this effort. Although we may see some level of immediate result, this is not an endeavor where we will be able to measure huge payoffs in months or quarters. The real benefits may be a generation down the road. But if we preserve, our children will be able to look back on our efforts with gratitude that we had the courage to stay the course and do what needed to be done.