letter from the
publIsher
Greetings,
People around the country are interested in how Louisiana is handling our rebuilding process. Many
of you attend national conferences. A few months ago I was honored to deliver the keynote speech
at a healthcare conference in Las Vegas. The speech was billed as “Louisiana and a post-disaster
healthcare system.” Is it just me or have you also experienced that most everyone from around the
country will politely treat you like your dog just died. With lingering images of police officers loot-
ing, cries for help unanswered, and a reputation for having a less than credible good ol' boy system,
it's no wonder people take some degree of pity on us. Old reputations die hard. But for me this con-
ference was a small opportunity to present what most of the country should know about us.
Most people are not fortunate enough to begin with a clean slate. A post-hurricane environment is
likely the closest we can get to such an opportunity. We did the right things. We formed redesign and
collaboration teams to address this opportunity. Some great ideas emerged and our leaders are on
board. But now the challenge, the implementation.
Healthcare has evolved into a labyrinth of competing factions. We are all trying to protect and
enhance our own interests. While this is natural, self-preservation can be in conflict with large scale
progress. We form organizations, unions, special interests, and alliances to protect ourselves. But,
what do we do if the ultimate best for all is in contrast to our self-interest? If the new design on a
clean slate means a diminished role for some interest group–insurance companies, hospitals, physi-
cians, pharmaceutical companies, lawyers–will we continue to support the change?
I believe that to some degree we all act in our own self-interest. But, I believe most people working
in the healthcare field choose at some point in their lives to do this work out of an innate sense of
serving and caring for others.
This sense of selflessness is necessary on a larger scale to implement and effect the right change we
need. We are the industry that can lead the way of selfless acts to achieve the results we desire such
as high quality with lower costs, and access and coverage for all. As another Fitzgerald might say,
ask not what your healthcare system can do for you, but rather what can you do for your healthcare
system. Something like that.
Vitality shows in not only the ability to
persist but the ability to start over.
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
healthcarejournalbr.com | July / August 2008 Issue |
Healthcare Journal of Baton Rouge
9
Smith W. Hartley