Membership Has Its Privileges
Sounds familiar doesn't it? There are a whole host of great reasons to become an Archimedes Movement member and the month of August brings you two more. Starting in August, our staff will host a monthly member conference call to help introduce new members to the movement and familiarize participants with chapters and the website. A second monthly call, dubbed "Thing's You Can Do," goes beyond orienting new members to equip members with monthly outreach tools and ideas as well as hear what other members and chapters have been doing successfully across Oregon and beyond.

New Member Orientation Conference Call
Would you like to learn how the Archimedes Movement works? Are you curious about ways to get more involved? Would you like to know how to use the tools on our web site? Join us for our first monthly member orientation call on August 14th from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. To sign up, please visit our Orientation Call web form. Once you've signed up we'll send you the conference call details a few days before the event. If you are interested and not yet a member, please become a member prior to the start of the call.

"Things You Can Do" Conference Call
Our most audacious goal is to reach out beyond our membership and help others get a new perspective on health care reform. This call will help you play a key role in this outreach. Join us for our first monthly outreach call on August 21st from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. To sign-up, please visit our Outreach Call web form. Once you've signed up we'll send you the conference call details a few days before the event. If you are interested and not yet a member, please become a member prior to the start of the call.

Upcoming Events
In our web site's Events section, we endeavor to list all Archimedes Movement events as well as other health care reform events around the state. There are too many events to list them here, but some highlights are that a group of members and supporters are joining me in participating in the 13th Annual Providence Bridge Pedal in Portland and the Farmers Market in Corvallis, Beaverton and Eugene. If you are a chapter member, you can add local events to your chapter's web page. When you add an event, everyone in your chapter will get a notification email. To get started, see our Help section or contact Matt.

Wanted: A few good venues
A cornerstone of our outreach program is our Community Presenters program. That's our version of a speakers' bureau. We've got Archimedes Movement members who are ready to appear at your local civic or faith organization. We need your help to identify and contact organizations who would like to have us give them a presentation. Please contact Matt if you can help us find a venue or if you would like to get trained to make the presentation yourself.

Photos from the Conference
Are you enjoying the photos in this email? We've created a photo gallery of snapshots from our Membership Conference held in June. In addition to flipping through them, you can download the full-resolution version, suitable for printing. Thanks to Wendy Kincade and Jesse Rope for contributing photos. View the photos.

Summer Reading
There is a lot of new stuff in our blog. Mallen Kear has just posted an important summary from her observations of the most recent Oregon Health Fund Board meeting. It's called, "Taking Triple Aim at a Straw Plan," and it is a must-read. There are many other recent local and national developments covered there, so poke around.  

Calorie Counts in Multnomah County
One thing Archimedes Movement members understand is that good health is not just about health care, it's also about taking personal responsibility for our own health. But how would you know that the "Lemon Pepper Shrimp" at PF Chang is 701 calories, while the "Hot Fish" is 1338 calories? Some great organizations are supporting a Multnomah County Health Department proposal to add calorie labeling to menus and menu boards of chain restaurants (15 or more outlets). For more information, see the action alert at Onward Oregon. Look for a similar proposal to come before the Oregon legislature in the next session. The Multnomah County Commission vote is set for Thursday, July 31st, so if you want to send a message in support, act now. You can contact all of the Multnomah County Commissioners via the Onward Oregon page or reach them individually via the links on the commissioners' page. Supporting organizations include: the American Heart Association/Stroke Association - Oregon Chapter, the OHSU Center for Weight Regulation, Oregon Nutrition Policy Alliance, Upstream Public Health and the Community Health Partnership: Oregon's Public Health Institute.

Community Leadership Council
Now that our Community Leadership Council has been posted look for the announcement of their first meeting soon. Meetings will be open to the public so that members and supporters can observe and take part in discussions.

If you have questions about any of these items, have an idea that you want to share or want to chat about anything else, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Have an active Summer,
Matt

Matt Webber
Outreach Coordinator
The Archimedes Movement

In September, the Oregon Health Fund Board will hold a series of public meetings across the state to get feedback from Oregonians on the draft plan for health care reform that OHFB members currently are developing.

The Oregon Health Fund Board was created by Senate Bill 329 (The Healthy Oregon Act). The Board is developing a comprehensive plan to achieve the Oregon Health Fund program goals outlined in SB 329. The Board will report to the Legislative Assembly by February 29, 2008, describing the progress of the Board and its subcommittees toward developing a comprehensive plan.

September Community Town Forums
Below is the meeting schedule. For the latest info, see the Oregon Health Fund Board Community Meetings web page.

Please visit our Community Leadership Council page to see the list of members of the Community Leadership Council.

In March of 2008, John Kitzhaber addressed the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 9th Annual International Summit on Clinical Office Practice. As keynote speaker, he delivered this presentation, the full version of his new work, "The Unfinished Business of the Baby Boom Generation: Health Care for the 21st Century."

» Watch the video

Save the Date: Saturday, June 14th

Join us for a full day of fun, workshops and history-making at Lewis & Clark College in Portland.

Activities include workshops, convention, lunch, a bumper sticker contest and a members reception with food and live music. 

Please visit our event page for details or to RSVP. 

You may also read John Kitzhaber's invitation. 

John Kitzhaber writes, "We have some great news to share with you. We start 2008 with a generous grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust to support the core staff and begin building an organizational structure which can support, grow and expand the Archimedes Movement."

» Read more in John Kitzhaber's Blog
» Read Executive Director Liz Baxter's March Update
» Read the Media Advisory

On February 9th, 2008, John Kitzhaber, MD, spoke at a community health forum in East Multnomah County. He delivered this presentation, a shorter version of his new work, "The Unfinished Business of the Baby Boom Generation."

You can view the 24 minute video in either of two sizes:
Large (DSL or Cable) Medium (Slower DSL)

The Salem Statesman-Journal has published a story about a grant that includes the Archimedes Movement:

The Oregon Health Action Campaign, based in Salem, is among the groups in 12 states that will share a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build a consumer voice for changes in the health-care system.

Oregon is among the states developing plans to extend health insurance coverage to people without it. A panel is scheduled to report its recommendations to the 2009 Legislature.

The total initiative in the 12 states is $15 million, which will be coordinated by Community Catalyst, a national nonprofit consumer health advocacy organization.

Oregon Health Action Campaign is one of five Oregon grouups that will share in the work and grant, which will be $750,000 spread over three years. Others are Oregonians for Health Security, Oregon Action, Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, and the Archimedes Movement led by former Gov. John Kitzhaber.

-- Peter Wong, Staff Reporter

A PDF of the story is available here.