Printable Version
Foundation Collaborates On Public Health Initiatives
The Foundation has
traditionally worked with Howard County
government on a number of mutual concerns. Much
of this collaboration has centered on the areas
of community emergency response capabilities
and older adult health.
In 2007, local public health practice underwent a major transformation with the commitment of County Executive Ken Ulman to create the country’s foremost "Public Health County." Our recent collaboration with county government is designed to help achieve that important goal.
In 2007, the Foundation provided more than $273,000 to help fund key Health Department initiatives. The award focused, in part, on Healthy Howard, a new department program that encourages restaurants, workplaces, schools and recreation facilities to include healthy activities and healthy products as part of their everyday routine.
In addition, there was strong collaboration in planning a series of pandemic flu preparedness exercises to occur in 2008–09. Preparing for a potential pandemic flu outbreak could be the Health Department’s most critical challenge in the coming years. Countywide planning in this arena is helped by the active participation of Health Officer Peter Beilenson and other government department heads in the Foundation’s Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) initiative. This ongoing collaboration of the Foundation with county first responder agencies was named as a "Best Practice" by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Also in the emergency response area, the Foundation financed the transition of the Howard County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) from The Horizon Foundation to the Health Department in 2007.
Earlier in the year, we continued our collaboration with the county on older adult issues with the development of a Summit on Health and Aging. The meeting recognized that Howard County has the fastest growing older adult population in Maryland.
The
Summit's purpose was to consider how to achieve
movement at the state level in order to enable
local communities to meet the needs of their
aging populations.
The full-day meeting attracted more than 300 people, including political leaders from throughout the state, Department of Aging directors from more than half of Maryland’s counties and many others. Erica Jong, whose latest book is Aging Well: Living a Fuller Life, was the keynote speaker.
As moderator, Foundation President & CEO Richard Krieg described a health care system "made up of silos of care that is biased towards institutional rather than home or community services. There are few geriatric specialists in any discipline in a system keyed to being sick rather than staying well," he said. "Payment follows the place, not the person, leading to a situation where acute illness, not chronic care, is the primary focus."
He was optimistic, however, on one point: "The Boomer generation has been characterized by a struggle to open up new opportunities and possibilities for everyone," he told Summit attendees. "Shaped by the experience of the 1960s, they've tended to challenge barriers. They've stretched the limits in a number of areas, including reinventing and challenging timeworn institutions."
In 2007, local public health practice underwent a major transformation with the commitment of County Executive Ken Ulman to create the country’s foremost "Public Health County." Our recent collaboration with county government is designed to help achieve that important goal.
In 2007, the Foundation provided more than $273,000 to help fund key Health Department initiatives. The award focused, in part, on Healthy Howard, a new department program that encourages restaurants, workplaces, schools and recreation facilities to include healthy activities and healthy products as part of their everyday routine.
In addition, there was strong collaboration in planning a series of pandemic flu preparedness exercises to occur in 2008–09. Preparing for a potential pandemic flu outbreak could be the Health Department’s most critical challenge in the coming years. Countywide planning in this arena is helped by the active participation of Health Officer Peter Beilenson and other government department heads in the Foundation’s Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) initiative. This ongoing collaboration of the Foundation with county first responder agencies was named as a "Best Practice" by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Also in the emergency response area, the Foundation financed the transition of the Howard County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) from The Horizon Foundation to the Health Department in 2007.
Earlier in the year, we continued our collaboration with the county on older adult issues with the development of a Summit on Health and Aging. The meeting recognized that Howard County has the fastest growing older adult population in Maryland.
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| Writer Erica Jong was the keynote speaker in July at the Maryland Summit on Health and Aging, co-sponsored by The Horizon Foundation and Howard County government. |
The full-day meeting attracted more than 300 people, including political leaders from throughout the state, Department of Aging directors from more than half of Maryland’s counties and many others. Erica Jong, whose latest book is Aging Well: Living a Fuller Life, was the keynote speaker.
As moderator, Foundation President & CEO Richard Krieg described a health care system "made up of silos of care that is biased towards institutional rather than home or community services. There are few geriatric specialists in any discipline in a system keyed to being sick rather than staying well," he said. "Payment follows the place, not the person, leading to a situation where acute illness, not chronic care, is the primary focus."
He was optimistic, however, on one point: "The Boomer generation has been characterized by a struggle to open up new opportunities and possibilities for everyone," he told Summit attendees. "Shaped by the experience of the 1960s, they've tended to challenge barriers. They've stretched the limits in a number of areas, including reinventing and challenging timeworn institutions."