Strategy and Actions

by | Jul 9, 2008 | Learn, We Can Do Better - News |

I hope you are all enjoying the Oregon summer, now that it has finally arrived. I want to begin by thanking everyone who attended our first annual Archimedes Movement Membership Conference at Lewis and Clark College on June 14th.   
 
As you know, our movement is based on the understanding that we cannot solve complex problems like the crisis in the U.S. health care system through the kind of polarized “transactional” politics which dominate our current political system. These problems are about us and they cannot be solved unless we do it together; unless we can create new tools and a new space in which we can engage one another as citizens, in which we can agree on how to move forward as a community.

Clearly, at some point this effort will have to intersect with the political system, but before that can effectively happen we need a much more robust organization, a much broader engagement of Oregonians throughout our state, and a strategy for moving beyond Oregon. The new organizational and governance structure that you adopted on June 14th provides the capacity to do just that by reframing the health care debate in two crucial ways:

  • First, we must shift the focus to building a health care system that actually improves the health of Oregonians rather than simply arguing over how to pay for the system we have today.
  • Second, we must shift the focus from where we want to go to how we get there. We accomplish that by identifying the key elements which must be part of a new system and recognizing that we can only get there together – not by labeling people, not by running over people, not by leaving people behind. We then can refocus our energy on how to make the transition work for all of us, not just for some of us.

At the June 14 meeting I suggested a set of objectives for a new health care system (based on the Triple Aim developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement); as well as some key elements which I believe are necessary to meet those objectives.
 
Now that the Community Leadership Council is being formed – and we’ve adopted an organizational structure through which we can take collective action as a movement – I want to suggest a few specific actions for consideration of the Community Leadership Council and Archimedes Movement members as we move forward:

  • Endorse the Triple Aim as the “system objectives” for a new health care system and encourage other individuals and organizations to do so as well (e.g. individual legislators, chambers of commerce, hospital boards of directors, city councils, etc.).
  • Endorse the key “system elements“ needed to achieve the Triple Aim and encourage other individuals and organizations to do so as well.
  • Testify before the Oregon Health Fund Board in the fall and encourage them to benchmark their final report against the Triple Aim and to add those key system elements which may not yet be included.
  • Contact Senator Wyden and other members of the Oregon Congressional Delegation and encourage them to benchmark the Healthy Americans Act against the Triple Aim and to add those key system elements which may not yet be included.
  • Set ambitious membership goals for the Archimedes Movement and develop specific strategies to achieve them.
  • Set ambitious educational goals to reframe the health care debate here in Oregon with clear benchmarks so that we can monitor our success and continue to adapt our strategy here and in other states.

We might also want to consider reconvening the membership in the fall to assess the strength and readiness of the movement for more direct political action, and to discuss the options that are available.
 
Once again, thank you for attending the June 14 meeting and for all your hard work and commitment.  I wish you success as you move forward and I stand by to help in any way I can.

Best Wishes,
 John