State of our health is complex

This week the Madison County Community Health Center hosted the 7th Annual State of Health Breakfast. The event is an opportunity to look at health issues collectively because these issues do affect our community. The health center is a certified agency of United Way and a member of the Community Access Network. It is supported by donors as well as by the local hospital networks, government and local business because it helps to fill a void that we all recognize.

We recognize that void some days more than others in our office. For instance, on January 15 I found myself staffing the office solo. For some reason, the calls for help were excessive that day. It's January, so the utility assistance calls are to be expected. But on that day, there were other calls. The callers were desperate, sobbing and in crisis. Several of these had to do with lack of medications. Every call I have ever received about medication is related to chronic disease maintenance and control: hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, etc. Unfortunately, these calls come when the condition has reached a crisis.

Dr. Michael B. Foggs, the speaker for this week's event, focused on the impact of lack of preventative care on the health industry, saying, "The best indication that one will skip preventative care is lack of health insurance." As associate director of allergy and immunology for Hahnemann University Medical Center and School of Medicine, Dr. Foggs focused on two chronic diseases: HIV and asthma.

Among his facts were a few startling ones: African American women were the highest percentages of both new cases and mortality for both diseases. With both diseases, late diagnosis and lack of ongoing treatment lead to unnecessary deaths. I can relate first-hand to asthma, and to Dr. Foggs' statement that it's "not an event." I have to admit that it's tempting to treat it like an event because prescriptions are expensive, but the results of avoiding ongoing medication are asthma attacks and worsening conditions.

Local United Way dollars help the health center provide a medical assistance program that has helped more than 200 patients with medications. We will be distributing a new discount card soon, probably through our Community Access Network partners. We also have information on the Healthy Indiana Plan in our office, and that information is available at the hospitals and health center, too.

A health care initiative is expected to be announced later this year by United Way of America. Similar to the current packaged focus areas of early childhood education and financial stability, United Way of America is expected to provide models, research and tools to help local communities address the health issues that we face. We'll welcome more information and resources, but that won't solve all the problems.

The health care issue is daunting. Government programs such as the Healthy Indiana Plan will help, but fall far short of need. Certainly non profit organizations do not have the resources to overcome the barriers. Health care providers and pharmaceutical companies provide assistance, but no one has the magic solution.
"Is health care a commodity or a right?" Dr. Foggs' asked rhetorically. In our country, it has been a commodity. In our country, people die for lack of health care. However, even a "right" comes with responsibility and need not necessarily be free. Responsibility for choices in lifestyle and behavior are part of the puzzle. A fair and humane system of service that includes business, government and non profit providers is another.