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Pat Hayes - Ms. Hayes thanked each of the participants for committing their
time by attending this forum. She explained that one of the purposes
of the work to be accomplished in the forum is to identify three to
four areas that will advance and have a powerful impact on the community.
She emphasized that the forum's activities will focus on our communities
health in the broadest sense. In order to paint the picture of where
our community is, she cited the following information:
- Central Texas is healthier than other counties and it has slightly
improved from the past.
- 20-25% of people in this region lack health insurance and this
population is disproportionately Hispanic. This population does not
have a primary care home and they see their health as poor.
- Central Texas is growing dramatically with the growth being disporportiately
Hispanic.
- Prevention is more cost effective than treatment but less than
5% of funding is spent on it.
- We have a prosperous 2.1% unemployed rate that is matched with
12.9% of residents in central Texas under the poverty level.
- Of the uninsured, 70% are working. We are talking about the working
poor.
- In 1997, over 17,000 small businesses dropped their insurance coverage
of employees.
- Huge driver is government policy. For example, the Balance Budget
Amendment has impacted local hospitals by millions of dollars.
- It appears that a bipartisan policy effort intends to make it difficult
to be a recipient of Medicaid benefits.
- Emergency care utilization is rising faster than the growth of
the population.
- There is a radical decrease in access for mental health and substance
abuse, acute care, nursing homes, and other services.
- Families experience complex bureaucratic systems, creating increased
and duplicate paperwork for those less skilled at traversing the system.
- Some people cannot find access to dialysis services.
Ms. Hayes pointed out that although there are tremendous challenges
in the field of health care and human services, the community is at
a point wherein an opportunity to substantially improve the system of
care is occurring. The following are a few points identified as opportunities
in our community:
- We live in a community with a multiplicity of assets; Central Texas
is a higher education community, one with leadership and one concerned
about health care. Many other communities lack these assets. Using
Maslov's hierarchy, we are a community that is at a higher level.
- We are at a real fork in the road. At one side of the fork, funds
are decreasing and for many the thought is that the best strategy
is to take care of my own niche ("hunkering down") because
the other solutions may be too big for me. The other fork is an opportunity
to create a community solution. Intuitively we think self-protection
will optimize my ability. This point of view is innocent in that we
are so profoundly interdependent. Example, air quality - two thirds
of our problem comes from Houston. So much for hunkering down, we
can never solve the problem alone. Hi-tech has no greater problem
than getting the workforce they need. In our community 12.9% of our
workforce is living below poverty level and may not have been educated
beyond 8th or 9th grade. We need to look at
how we are dependent on each other.
- We are profoundly interdependent. This story provides a simplified
example, a mom was in the kitchen and her kids were playing on the
back porch. They are shouting and screaming because they want an orange.
She splits it. One child eats half of the orange and throws away the
rind. The other takes half the rinds and mixes it with water for paint
and throws away the other. If their mother had asked what the orange
is for, then they both could have had 100% of what they wanted. Instead
they got 50% and 50% was wasted.
- Many of you have been involved with the Indigent Care Council (ICC)
and now the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) grant for planning and designing
a new system of care. The RWJ coalition is a good example of finding
a solution and working together.
- Back to fork in road, we are at a place where we need to make a
decision. Will each of us take care of ourselves and hunker down or
will we look at a larger pie, a bigger picture that is dependent on
us working together?
Five aspects of collaborations:
- Take a large view of what is fundamentally possible.
- Good solutions are system solutions. We certainly admire those
who take care of individuals but we need to leverage the larger
good over a period of time.
- Think of our work as in an accelerated mode. We need to come
to terms with accelerated solutions or we will find our problems
will pass our ability to solve them. Steven Covey, reminds us to
work with the end in mind.
- Don't be fearful about mistakes. There is less certainty about
what will happen.
- Work with a passion for this community. This is a work of the
heart as well as a work of the head.
Central Texas can be the richest and also have the highest quality
of life for those that live here. You can make a difference with smart
directional right solutions that you provide today.
Fred Butler - Mr. Butler introduced
Judge Sam Biscoe. He explained that Judge Biscoe is known by just about
everyone. He is known for his willingness to be involved. Mr. Butler
provided an example of CAN's need for a chair on a committee and Judge
Biscoe volunteered. He is also known for his willingness to listen,
to collaborate, and a sense of humor.
Judge Sam Biscoe - Judge Biscoe began by remarking on Fred Butler's ability to sound
like a campaign manager; then he discussed the importance of collaborations.
He began by describing that it has not been so long ago when to collaborate
had a negative meaning. It meant to cooperate with an enemy invader.
Today it means people coming together, brainstorming, and trying to
find facts in order to find solutions to important issues.
Next, he discussed the importance for all of us to bring the same
mount of energy and academic power as we do to address environmental
and other issues in our community. It is important to get input and
work together. Judge Biscoe mentioned some of the successes that have
been achieved through collaborations
He described a recent community awards banquet, where various collaborative
efforts have made this community a better place to live, work, and play.
He emphasized that this forum is important, collaborate and you will
make a difference. Implementation is important and it is his view that
this community is ready to make reasonable recommendations that will
be implemented. Action has been lacking in the past.
When Judge Biscoe thinks of collaboration, he envisions planning and
then sharing the information with everyone. Another important component
is to identify resources. We need to know that these resources will
change lives, when you have a plan someone needs to monitor and evaluate
whether the implementation is working. He is amazed that people never
admit that a program does not work but only that it works and needs
increased funding. The community needs to challenge itself to know if
something works and we need a process to measure if it works.
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At a recent Resource Council, $3.8 million dollars from the Tobacco
settlement funds have been identified for Travis County. Judge Biscoe
would like to see these funds utilized in Health and Human Services.
He recommends, we send letters to try and secure these resources.
Judge Biscoe encouraged the audience to bring specific programs forward
and let him and others know what is needed. The funds need to be used
not to invest in the future but to establish a one time investment into
a program and keep it going. Health and Human Services is God's work.
We need to work together whether we like each other or not because collectively
will operate better programs.
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