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From the President
A Year in Review and a New Beginning
By Phyllis J. Sloyer, RN, PhD, FAHM, FAAP
What does one say about 2009 and actually the first decade of the 21st century? 2009 certainly was a year of tremendous change and many would agree the window of health policy opportunity opened and the debate will continue in 2010. We witnessed the inauguration of a new president and I believe an increasing interest in forging much stronger partnerships among our federal agencies. The AMCHP leadership and staff have been hard at work keeping Title V at the table whether the discussion was focused on stimulus dollars for prevention, responses to H1N1, increasing attention on women’s health, the Title V connection with injury prevention and chronic disease prevention, beginning work on child health quality measures, home visiting initiatives and important work with our partners on medical homes, perinatal care, etc. I must say I can’t remember many times during the first decade of the 21st century where we had so many opportunities. [read more]
From the CEO
The Year Ahead and the Year in Review
By Mike R. Fraser, PhD
It seems like everyone has a list of the top five or 10 things from 2009 of some sort just in time for New Year’s – from best books and music, to best news and photographs of the year. Instead of a list of “top” things from 2009, however, I wanted to be a little more prospective and think through what the top five “Things to Watch” in 2010 may be for AMCHP members. Of course this list is not all inclusive but rather what is on my mind right now. Without a crystal ball it is indeed hard to predict the future but these are educated guesses that I think are pretty solid. As we get deeper in to 2010, be sure to ask me how the list may have changed! [read more]
Program Updates
Program Team Accomplishments in 2009
By Lauren Raskin Ramos, MPH
Implementing preconception health for adolescents, strengthening leadership development for Title V staff, providing MCH epidemiology skills-building and training, addressing emerging issues such as H1N1, providing resources to support state systems for autism and developmental disabilities, defining a comprehensive system for adolescent health, identifying state models implementing preconception health, creating a central database of MCH programs that work, providing training on evidenced-based approaches to teen pregnancy prevention, and supporting state and local capacity to reduce racial inequities in infant mortality address racism – these are among the many and exciting accomplishments of AMCHP’s Program Team in 2009. [read more]
Advocacy Updates
AMCHP Policy Team Year in Review
By Brent Ewig, MHs
The past year was filled with exciting MCH policy developments, including some thrills, some disappointments, and ending on the cusp of historic action on health reform. Through it all, AMCHP’s advocacy was led by our Legislative and Health Care Finance Committee, ably guided by President Phyllis Sloyer (FL) and now chaired by Dr. Jim Bryant (OH). [read more]