Board Nominations
WSPHA
will conduct an email ballot special election for several positions in
May. Particularly given the organization's new strategic plan
along with the new campaign focus, the Board has specifically identified
the following skills for candidates seeking a Board position in the
special May election:
- Board Governance and Board Development
- Advocacy and Policy Development
- Fundraising and Resource Development
To nominate a candidate, please review the Board Nomination Process within the Member-only section of the website, contact the candidate to ascertain their interest, and then fill out the online nominations form. If you have trouble accesing the Member-only section please contact Andrea Hightower.
Nominations close April 30, 2010. To be a member of the Board of Directors, nominees must be members of the organization.
After
nominations are received, the Board Development Committee will vet
candidates and offer a slate during the email election.
Regular elections will occur at the annual meeting of the membership
during the Joint Conference on Health, October 12, 2010.
Questions? Contact Nancy Goodloe, Chair, Board Development
Committee, at nrgoodloe@charter.net
Don't forget to vote!
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Important Notice:
To
view membership-only content, including Board nominations information,
Joint Conference on Health proceedings and other premium content, you
must be a currently paid member, and log in to the website. To
receive your password, click on the "forgot password" link on the bottom
left of the home page and instructions will be sent to your email to
reset your password. Don't forget to review your profile and add
your home email address for advocacy-related emails.
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Innovation & Collaboration in Times of Change
Save the Date! The 2010 Joint Conference on Health
is coming October 11-12, 2010. Abstract submissions for
oral presentations and posters (posters will undergo formal review and
be selected for presentation this year) are due May 21, 2010. The
electronic submissions process opens later this week on the WSPHA
website.
WSPHA welcomes Dr. Carmen Nevarrez, President of
the American Public Health Association, as a featured speaker.
Plan to attend this year's Joint Conference on Health, which will
feature an awards banquet on Monday evening, specifically tailored peer
and professional networking opportunities, and content designed to
address the changing context of the public health workforce.
As
a WSPHA member, you know how beneficial it is to rejuvenate and learn
at the Joint Conference on Health. We encourage you to add your support as a volunteer with this year's committees to make the conference a tremendous success. Questions? Contact Laura Nalbandian, lnalbandian@wspha.org, JCH Coordinator for 2010. Thank you in advance for your attendance and support!
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Strategic Plan 2010-2012
On February 22, 2010, the WSPHA Board of
Directors adopted a three-year strategic plan and direction for the organization. Re-affirming the
organizational mission, and specifically calling out the role of the
organization in both supporting public health professionals and promoting
overall public health objectives, the Board unanimously adopted the plan with
the following key priorities:
*
Building and
preparing the public health workforce; Increasing the stature and competency of
public health professionals and the profession through ongoing professional
training and development
* Ensuring that the public health system is addressing systems, environmental and policy changes that optimize health
*
Implementing an advocacy campaign promoting maternal child health (one
of a series of campaigns that WSPHA will implement over several years)
* Strengthening advocacy for public health funding
*Growing the WSPHA voice and programs through increased organizational and individual memberships
The entire plan can be viewed on the WSPHA
website under the membership section.
You can help shape the implementation of the strategic plan by
volunteering to join a WSPHA Committee. Consider joining the Membership, Professional
Development, or Advocacy Committees.
Questions? Contact members of the Board or Executive Director Laura Hitchcock and we'll be happy to answer them.
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Healthcare Reform Passes!
Dear WSPHA member:
As
I write this, I have the opportunity to reflect on the historic vote
that the US House of Representatives took this past Sunday to enact
healthcare reform.
WSPHA is proud to have supported
healthcare reform over the past year to bring Washington's public health
voices to the reform movement. Through cosigning letters to
members of Congress, and direct advocacy actions by WSPHA members and
public health advocates, our collective work towards passage of
healthcare reform will radically improve focus on prevention and public
health, through incentives, directives, funding, better coordination,
and new infrastructure.
While the impacts of some of the
provisions of the two bills will not be felt for some time, this
revitalization and refocus on preventative and population-level
approaches is unprecedented and provides a level of hope for a holistic
and whole healthcare system for our country.
Over the next several days, we will watch the Senate's action on the reconciliation package and attention to these issues.
Thank
you, to the members of Congress who worked on the many aspects of these
historic, precedent-setting bills that do address public health and
preventative provisions, even as the debate was often contentious about
the public option and financing of the reforms. Please take a
moment to thank your legislators personally - we encourage you to see how the package impacts public health and check how your member voted by visiting our website.Laura Hitchcock
Executive Director
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| National Public Health Week
April 5-9, 2010
Nominate a 'Health Champion' Today
In
the 21st century, our public health work is significantly impacted by
the actions of many. Join WSPHA in recognizing 'health champions'
during National Public Health Week by nominating a person, organization or endeavor
who you would like to see celebrated through placement on WSPHA's
website, promotion to the media, and a certificate and thank you from
our Board of Directors. Our goal with this program is to
increase visibility and recognition of public health for our public and
elected leaders. Nominations close March 31st at midnight. Don't forget to nominate a candidate here. If you have questions, please contact Executive Director Laura Hitchcock, at lhitchcock@wspha.org.
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Legislative Session Report
As
of March 23, the legislature has not quite adjourned, or rather has not
quite re-adjourned. In a year when the state faced over a $1
billion budget deficit, state financing for public health programs
appear to be faring arguably well. This does not mean that public
health programs have not been impacted. As legislators negotiate
over the final budget, hanging in the balance are the state's Tobacco
Prevention and Cessation Program, funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, and
maternity support services funding. WSPHA has consistently
advocated for no further cuts to local public health funding (over past
years), and ensuring that these other important programs are fully
funded. WSPHA also supports identification and passage of a new,
dedicated, sustainable funding source for public health functions.
How
do we advocate? WSPHA coordinates with the Public Health
Roundtable, which is a loosely organized coalition of organizations with
a policy agenda that supports public health, including supporting a
lobbyist in Olympia, reaching out directly to legislators, an
intentional media strategy, and grassroots advocacy through mobilization
of a grassroots email list of over 2000 individuals. This year,
WSPHA also promoted taxing candy and gum by categorizing them as a
non-food item (currently, they are exempt from the sales tax due to
their categorization as food items), and directing the generated revenue
to public health.
In addition, we promoted an
excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (non-diet sodas, sports drinks,
juices with sugar added, bottled drinks, etc.). This tax is
increasingly receiving attention across the country as states grapple
with the childhood obesity epidemic. Sugary drinks amount to 20%
of calories consumed by youth, and studies show that a 1 cent/ounce tax
can decrease consumption. WSPHA worked to get press coverage of
this issue by supporting public health voices. This
tax could be a source of public health funding, along with acting as a
behavioral deterrent that benefits our youth. In the final
hours, the candy/gum tax is included in the House and Governor's
proposed budgets and a sugar-sweetened beverage tax is included in the
Governor's package. Check out these great media pieces by WSPHA and other public health advocates for revenue for public health programs and taxing sugary products.
Because
of the budget deficit, it was difficult in 2010 to argue in favor of a
dedicated revenue source for public health. However, it has long
been WSPHA's organizational position that a dedicated source is critical
to preserve and ensure core capacity functions at the local level.
As
a member of WSPHA, you are a critical voice in helping to shape and
develop the organization's positions on key policy issues.
Over the interim, WSPHA will work with members and public health
advocates to shape a strong pro-active policy agenda, including a new
campaign around maternal child health (see other article.). Please
join us for a statewide policy meeting in mid- June and make your
voices heard. Thank you for your advocacy this session, it made a
difference in protecting public health programs, and, along with
healthcare reform, will hopefully result in a positive outcome for all
public health programs once budget negotiations are finalized.
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| You spoke - we listened
Consistently, membership survey results showed
your desire for a more interactive and helpful website, including online
membership applications and renewals.
Did you know that if you visit the WSPHA website and log in using your
profile, you can: -
View the WSPHA membership directory and connect
directly with other WSPHA members
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Renew online in a few very easy steps
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Review premium content available only to members
We look forward to making the
website even more helpful to you in the months ahead. Currently, we are seeking online forum topic
monitors to seed posts and create space for discussions of 'hot topics' among
WSPHA members. Interested? Contact us for details. There is a
possibility of small stipend which we are currently exploring to get these
forums up and running.
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Help Build the Public Health Voice of WSPHA
Want
to build a stronger public health movement? Strengthen your
profession? Help WSPHA meet its membership targets for 2010.
Invite a colleague to coffee, and let them know about WSPHA
opportunities and activities. And let us know how it went!
Contact Beth Lipton, Membership Chair,
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WSPHA Committee and Staff Changes
WSPHA has new committee chairs for 2010. Contact chairs to volunteer for a committee.
Membership:
Nancy Goodloe, nrgoodloe@charter.net.
WSPHA
welcomes Andrea Hightower as our new Program & Executive Assistant,
focused on operations and membership services and development.
You can reach Andrea at ahightower@wspha.org or with general administrative questions at admin@wspha.org.
This year's Joint Conference on Health coordinator is Laura Nalbandian, reachable a lnalbandian@wspha.org. Please do not hesitate to contact Laura with any questions that you may have about Joint Conference on Health issues.
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