According to Dr. Carmona the Public Health sector must create messages that resonate with other sectors and their needs. For example, we must get the attention of the economic and business sectors, who will respond to messages about the impact of poor or no access to health care on the economy, and the workforce. Minority children are less likely to have health insurance or a medical home. They are more likely to smoke and binge drink. They are more likely to be obese as children and to develop type II diabetes and hypertension as children. It is our job to reach out with language, and messages that help to equalize prevention and dispel inequalities that are rooted in racial and ethnic bias. Prevention and health literacy are two approaches that can reduce health disparities for entire racial and cultural groups.

Assemblyman Richard Gottfried presented the reform he envisions on the State level for Universal Publicly Funded Health Coverage, with a single payer, controlled by the State, using one form, like Medicare. He advocates for raising the eligibility for Family Health Plus, folding in the benefits of Child Health Plus, offering full mental health coverage, expanding provider networks, and expanding the law to add PPOs (Preferred Provider Organization) in addition to HMOs (Health Maintenance Organization). Under this scenario employers would sponsor Family Health Plus. Gottfried likened the universal health coverage debate to the public education in the United States, which is free, universal and at public expense regardless of a parent’s ability to pay. He suggests we view health coverage much in the same light – as a privilege available to all citizens. We need to reframe the perception that government sponsored health insurance is public assistance. All New Yorkers deserve this benefit, not only the uninsured.

The state of Perinatal Health in the Hudson Valley region was presented by Dr. Howard Blanchette, Chief of OB-GYN, Westchester Medical Center, Dr. Edmund LaGamma, Chief of Neonatology at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital - Westchester Medical Center, Dr. Jean Hudson, Commissioner of Health in Orange County, representing the Hudson Valley Regional Health Officers Network, and Cheryl Hunter-Grant and Caren Fairweather, Executive Director’s of the regions two Perinatal Networks that span 7 counties in the Hudson Valley and funded by the NYS DOH Bureau of Women’s Health.

Dr. Foster Gesten, Medical Director for the Office of Managed Care in the New York State Department of Health discussed New York State’s Vision for Women and Children’s Health Care specifically addressing the effectiveness of New York State’s public health insurance programs in reaching uninsured populations and sustaining the health care providers that serve them.

A panel discussion on Access to Perinatal Services: Consumer, Provider and Business Perspectives was moderated by Robert Amler, MD, Dean, New York Medical College, School of Public Health. Panelists included: Paul F. Macielak, Esq., President and CEO of the New York Health Plan Association, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, 88th Assembly District, NYS Assembly, Dr. Andrew Racine, Vice President of Chapter 3, District II of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Elizabeth Swain, CEO, Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS), and Joseph Lynett, JD, Associate, Jackson Lewis, LLP.

Dr. Carmona urged us to re-shape/re-position our Public Health messages. He challenged us to work "smarter" to penetrate systems and to raise health literacy even among policy makers, elected officials, etc., so they understand the impact preventable diseases such as Infant Mortality, prematurity, obesity and smoking will have on our Homeland Security and Workforce Diversity if they are not adequately addressed. We invite you to contact one of the Perinatal Networks, Maternal Infant Services Network (Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties) 845-928-7448, www.misn-ny.org or Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network (Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties) 914-493-6435 www.lhvpn.net and share how we can work together and work smarter to secure resources, increase cultural competency and health literacy to ensure all women, children and families in the Hudson Valley region get access to quality health care.

Conference Agenda | Presentations | Conference Photos | Speakers and Panel Members and Sterring Committee List