“I think collaboration is essential to improving our health care statistics in Alabama . . .” -Michael Harrington, MD
include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, the Alabama Hospital Association, and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA). “I think collaboration is essential to improving our health care statistics in Alabama,” said Michael Harrington, MD. Harrington is president of MASA and chairs the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UAB. “We shouldn’t be 47th, 48th, or 49th,” he said. “We ought to be much better than that. Good health is the
key to so many other things. A healthy state means a stronger workforce, which supports a better economy, which means better education—they’re all connected. I want to see these statistics improve. I want to see Alabama move up the ranks and improve the health of its citizens.” AL-HAC will hold a summit in 2013 to create an Alabama Health Action Agenda and organize interdisciplinary task forces to begin addressing the state’s many health issues. The challenges are formidable. According to the Office of Primary and Rural Health in Alabama, 55 of the state’s 67 counties are rural, and 44 percent of Alabama’s 4.7 million people live in these areas, where quality care is scarce. In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 19 percent of Alabamians live below the poverty level. The United Health Foundation ranks Alabama 49th nationally for infant mortality. Alabama has a shortage of nurses, physicians, dentists, mental health professionals, physical
therapists, and other allied health professionals. The situation is serious—but not hopeless. AL-HAC plans to begin its journey by focusing on these goals: Building an infrastructure for collecting and analyzing interprofessional health care workforce data Enhancing interprofessional collaboration Supporting diversity Supporting Healthy People 2020 Removing barriers to practice for all providers Increasing the proportion of nurses with bachelor’s degrees Doubling the number of nurses with doctorates “We’ve got to figure out what’s best for the citizens of Alabama, and how the health care community can best work together to deliver quality care in an efficient, affordable manner,” Ladner stressed. “We absolutely must collaborate, maximize our resources, and figure out what’s best for all.” UAB SCHOOL OF NURSING | 17