Joe Zaerr

Background

  • Born on an orange ranch in California;
  • BS degree in forestry;
  • spent 3 years in Navy;
  • PhD degree in plant physiology,  UC Berkeley;
  • Professor of Forest Science at OSU (retired since 1994);
  • Fulbright Research Fellowship to Germany (2 years).

I wasn’t interested in health care until after I retired from working for the university.  I got interested because of a relative, and the more I learned the more important it seemed for me to become involved.  Working toward health care reform has been a very rewarding activity since my retirement.

I first heard about We Can Do Better (then the Archimedes Movement) in the summer of 2006.  I think that We Can Do Better fills a very important gap in the health care advocate spectrum.   It has a long-term vision, focuses on health rather than health care, and provides a framework for getting something done to improve health.  Working with this organization has been a rewarding activity for me.

What will a transformed health system look like to me? We will all get the health care we need when we need it at a reasonable cost. But the important part of focusing on health, is that at the end of transformation will be better health for everyone.

I think the hardest thing I’ve done with/for We Can Do Better was making my first visit to a legislator. The subsequent ones have not been so hard. And I think the most fun I’ve had was at an all-day retreat with other members of the Community Leadership Council. But the strangest place I’ve ever talked about We Can Do Better to a stranger was at a memorial service for a relative. This issue impacts us all.