REMARKS BY:	Steven  Galson, Acting Surgeon General
PLACE:
DATE:	Monday, December 03, 2007

"Working Together for a Healthier Nation"

 

Remarks as prepared; not a transcript.

RADM Steven K. Galson, M.D., MPH
Acting Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Remarks at the Alaska Health Summit

Monday, December 3, 2007


Connecting the Dots: Working Together for a Healthy Alaska

"Working Together for a Healthier Nation"

Thank you, Jay (Dr. Jay Butler the Director of the State of Alaska Division of Public Health), for that gracious introduction.

And thanks to Dr. Linda Degutis, American Public Health Association President, for her enlightening remarks.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

I am honored to be here today.

I am always delighted to spend time with fellow health professionals. Whatever your professional specialty, you are valuable advocates for improving access and delivery of health care services.

And I am especially grateful to have the opportunity to provide opening remarks at this year's Alaska Health Summit.

I would like to first take a moment to recognize Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner (HSS) Karleen Jackson; John Riley, President of the Alaska Public Health Association (ALPHA); and Debra Caldera of the State of Alaska Office of Children's Services, ALPHA President-Elect, and Chair of this 2007 Summit.

Thank you for all you have done to bring everyone together from across this great state.

We know that you are here today because you care about the health of our great nation… especially for the health of Alaska residents.

For many of you, health care is a calling:

• to heal,
• to provide comfort,
  and
• to protect and improve the health and well-being of the American people.

That is why I have such abiding respect for the work you do every day.

Moreover, I am quite impressed by your Summit agenda.

Issues such as…integrating primary and behavioral health care; reducing childhood overweight and obesity; tobacco use; elder care; nutrition; underage drinking; domestic violence prevention; controlling chronic disease; diabetes; … are all issues we deal with at the national level.

You are tackling some of the most foremost health challenges and cultural concerns facing your state - and our Nation - today.

The Alaska Public Health Association's vision that … "Alaskans shall have the knowledge and means to live free of preventable illness and injury," is clearly present in your Summit agenda.

Your focus on many of the difficult issues facing the public health field mirrors our own interest at the Federal level.

Our cause is common.

Accordingly, I am here to request your help, offer the support of H-H-S and identify ways we can actively collaborate to create healthier communities in Alaska and throughout the Nation.

Events like this one afford the opportunity to effectively share knowledge.

They provide a venue to learn and compare valuable and emerging information on a number of topics.

• information about best health practices;
• the benefits of making appropriate choices regarding diet, nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle;
• the importance of preventive care:
• the value added to one's health when this knowledge is applied.

At H-H-S, we recognize that good health doesn't just happen. It's a matter of smart choices and sound clinical care.

Priorities

As many of you may be aware, I am still relatively new to the position of Surgeon General.

My broad responsibilities as Acting Surgeon General involve serving as our nation's chief "health educator." My office provides accurate and emerging information on topics related to the health and wellness of Americans.

I am quite encouraged by the real opportunity afforded the Office of the Surgeon General to improve public health and motivate individuals and families adopt those practices most likely to result in better personal wellness.

I would like to mention several areas of focus in particular,

The first is Prevention - what each of us can do in our own lives and communities to make ourselves and our families healthier.

We want to transform our health care system from a treatment-centered entity to one that focuses on preventing disease and treating diseases early.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90 million Americans live with chronic disease.

Estimates indicate that treating people with chronic disease accounts for more than 75 percent of the 1.4 trillion dollars that America spends on medical care each year {Source: www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/overview.htm}.

In 2003, health expenditures in the U.S. equaled 15% of the national economy.

Moreover, health spending per capita in the United States is much higher than in other countries.

This cannot be sustained over the long term.

Right now, we have it backwards. Our health system is focused on treatment instead of prevention. We must place more emphasis on prevention.

Keeping people healthier longer reduces the cost of care and can contribute to a longer life.

Prevention takes on an even more urgent imperative when discussing our youth because it can save lives and produces healthy minds.

Perhaps worst of all, our children are growing up with unhealthy lifestyles, the consequences of which could be with them for the rest of their lives.

Obesity has become an epidemic.

Food is abundant, portion sizes have increased, and society has become increasingly sedentary.

The trends among America's children are disquieting.

During last 25 years, the proportion of overweight kids ages 6 through 11 more than doubled, while overweight in adolescents tripled.

Some 18 percent of all school age children are now overweight. As a result, these young people face increased risk, as overweight increases risk for adult heart disease, diabetes, and other lifelong illnesses.

Because the factors contributing to obesity are complex, reversing the epidemic will take concerted action by providers of care, fitness professionals, our public health colleagues, and indeed by all sectors of society.

I am confident that by working together we can make a difference in children's lives.

It was recently announced that I will chair the HHS' Childhood Overweight and Obesity Coordinating Council.

I am eager to work with HHS officials and community stakeholders as they develop and foster programs that share the goal of providing options for community-based interventions.

Public Health Preparedness

Another priority in our office is Public Health Preparedness.

This includes maintaining the capability of rapid response to all hazards, including hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemics.

As Acting Surgeon General, I have the privilege of leading the day-to-day operations of the Corps - an organization of more than 6,000 public health professionals who can be deployed in emergencies by the federal government.

We are dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing public health and safety.

My office is also responsible for oversight of the Medical Reserve Corps, a national system of community-based teams of medical and public health volunteers.

M-R-Cs are a way to organize health professionals who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year.

In many ways, the M-R-C units across the country strengthen the public health infrastructure, and improve emergency preparedness.

Eliminating Health Disparities

A third priority in my office is Eliminating Health Disparities.

It is simply unacceptable that in our great nation there are such dramatic differences in health between populations based on race, socioeconomic status, and geography.

Many of you may be familiar with these health disparities.

Statistics show that:

• American Indians and Alaska Natives die at higher rates than other Americans from tuberculosis, alcoholism, motor vehicle crashes, diabetes, unintentional injuries, homicide and suicide.
• American Indians/Alaska Natives also have a high prevalence and risk factors for mental illness and suicide, obesity, substance abuse, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), teenage pregnancy, and liver disease.
• African Americans are 1.5 times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to have high blood pressure.
• And cancer is the second leading cause of death for most racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. For Asians and Pacific Islanders, it is the number one killer.

All Americans - regardless of their race, heritage or gender - should have access to good health information and health services.

We, at HHS, are committed to eliminating health disparities.

I encourage you to visit the H-H-S Office of Minority Health website to learn more about what we are doing in the Department to combat disparities in health delivery. The web address is www.omhrc.gov, Office of Minority Health Resource Center.gov.

Coming together - Connecting the dots

Many of us work hard to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of our people; we have got to work together, outside our silos, and connect the dots.

Working together, we can accomplish much more than working alone.

Together, we must awaken the entire nation, every population, to the realities of health disparities and to the relationship between primary and behavioral health care.

We must work collaboratively and continually to elevate the agenda of health disparities so that it is recognized as what it is: a national issue that requires a comprehensive response.

Everyone has a role to play. Everyone here can help spread the message.

However, health literacy -- the ability of an individual to access, understand and use health-related information and services to make sound health decisions -- is also important.

All of us - government, educators, and health care professionals - need to work together to improve health literacy.

That's why H-H-S, as a Department, is taking what we know and creating tools to help health organizations, care givers, professionals, service, information providers, and other public health stakeholders improve health literacy all over the country.

Health Literacy Website and Quick Guide

For example, H-H-S has developed a Health Literacy Improvement portal.

Quite simply, we want people to understand in plain language that they can make the right decisions, and we want them to know what they need to do to stay healthy.

I want to also make you aware that HHS has developed a Quick Guide to Health Literacy, a brief and easy-to-use manual for improving healthy literacy.

The portal can be found at:

www.health.gov/communication/literacy

HHS Actions on Health Disparities

HHS has a variety of programs and initiatives designed to decrease health disparities systemically and individually.

One of the most important is our efforts to improve access to care.

Community Health Centers (CHCs) play an important role in expanding access. They serve patients who need it most - those at or below the poverty level, the uninsured, and racial and ethnic minorities.

The goal is to get more people who need it into community health centers early

This allows us to focus on prevention and keeps patients out of the emergency room.

In 2001, President Bush outlined a Health Center Initiative to create 1,200 new or expanded sites that could increase the number of people served.

By expanding community health centers, we are not only increasing access points and caring for more people - we are also improving the quality of care and providing more services.

Some 26 Community Health Centers in Alaska receive support from the Heath Research and Services Administration (HRSA), an H-H-S component. Combined, they receive a total of $30 million in federal grant funds.

In 2006, these community health centers were the medical home for more than 80,000 individuals in the state of Alaska.

Also, the Indian Health Services (IHS), as the principal federal health care provider for American Indian and Alaska Native people, works to provide accessible health services to approximately 1.9 million people.

I know we have a long way to go; still, I am optimistic we can create and sustain better health among Alaskans and Native peoples.

Whether a clinician, provider of primary care, behavioral health professional, health educator or consumer of services, you can help.

Your outreach, your persuasion, your networks can and will be instrumental helping to transform the way we think about public health.

Eventually, science is likely to advance to the point where prevention can be tailored to an individual's basic genetic makeup.

In time, the combination of basic scientific breakthroughs of the human genome and the computer-age ability to exchange and manage data will yield profound dividends.

Increasingly, it will give us the ability to deliver the right treatment to the right patient at the right time -- every time.

Every one of us is biologically unique. We've always known that, but we haven't had the knowledge or the tools to deliver health care at that kind of individual level. That's what we are changing.

H-H-S is encouraging and supporting these important developments.

Until we get there, we will use the best available scientific evidence and encourage small and sensible choices that result in lifestyle changes.

Our hope is that altered lifestyles will become transformed lives.

You can assist by urging those you serve to focus on certain key steps:

1. Good nutrition,
2. Physical activity,
3. Maintenance of a healthy weight,
4. Regular health screenings,
5. Vaccinations,
   and
6. Preventing exposure to tobacco and secondhand smoke.

Underage Drinking

Another way you can help is by talking about the impact underage drinking has on your communities.

Earlier this year, the Office of the Surgeon General issued a Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking. (HOLD UP CALL TO ACTION)

Alcohol is the most widely used and abused substance among our Nation's youth.

The science indicates that underage drinking is putting our children at risk.

Research shows that the brain continues to develop well beyond childhood and throughout adolescence. So underage drinking harms not only our youth, but also our future.

I will discuss what we know, and its implications, in further detail at a concurrent workshop session scheduled later in the afternoon.

Secondhand Smoke

The Office of the Surgeon General has also released a Report about the harmful health effects of secondhand smoke.

Eliminating the exposure of secondhand smoke to our youth is a critical component of disease prevention. The research shows us that smoking not only harms the smoker, but it also harms the people nearby the smoker…such as spouses, children, and friends.

And children who are exposed to secondhand smoke potentially have dozens of health issues as a result. Kids are more heavily exposed to secondhand smoke than adults.

Science makes clear how harmful this can be.

Given the extensive evidence on the serious health risks posed by secondhand smoke exposure, we cannot be satisfied until all Americans are aware of the health hazards caused by secondhand smoke on their families and loved ones.

Guides to Action

My office is committed to providing the best scientific information on smoking, alcohol and other public health concerns in a way that people can use and understand.

By doing so, we are enabling people to actively take steps to increase their health and wellness.

That is why H-H-S has released several documents called "Guides to Action."

(HOLD UP GUIDES TO ACTION)

These "Guides to Action" present health science in a way that Americans can understand and apply to their individual circumstances.

When these Guides to Action are widely "put into action," they will literally save lives.

More information can be found at www.surgeongeneral.gov

Closing and Charge

Certainly, promoting a culture of wellness and prevention, increasing preparedness, eliminating health disparities, addressing obesity and reducing tobacco and alcohol misuse among young people represent formidable challenges.

Those of you on the front lines at the community level are and will remain our critical partners as we meet them.

You are especially needed.

The playwright Henrick Ibsen once said, "a community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm."

You know the characteristics unique to Alaska that make the delivery of services challenging.

Literally, you know the Alaskan landscape: its geography, land mass, its remote outposts - in fact, I am scheduled to visit "the bush" tomorrow - and I will learn firsthand some of your climate challenges.

You are the experienced, familiar faces of public health in Alaska.

And you care.

Your interest in the outcome is profound: at stake is improved community health, better quality and increased years of life for your neighbors, friends, families and loved ones.

As others adopt our message - that healthy choices matter, that preventive practices are important to good health - you will influenced the choices of people whose names you may never know.

That is why I hope everyone here today will work proactively…help in any way possible…to eliminate health disparities,…emphasize the added value of prevention,… and bring about cultural change in the way we think about health care.

I urge you to stay involved by sharing information.

Discuss why preventive practices matter. Share what we know about the value of a good diet, physical activity, getting regular health screenings, the need to avoid tobacco and underage drinking, and how to improve one's health literacy.

I encourage you…challenge you… to become a change agent.

Help others do the same…connect the dots…work together…commit to doing everything possible to create healthier families, neighbors, and communities.

At the end of the day, that is what we all want for our communities: healthy bodies, healthy minds, and healthy spirits!

Thank you.

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Last revised: March 23, 2009