Conference attendees offer thoughts on reform

Monday, November 16, 2009, 2:20 am

Attendees of the 2009 Business Journal Health Care Solutions that Work conference were asked the question: What is the one thing that could be done either in the North Bay or nationally to improve health care?

Carolina Spence

Carolina Spence, Community Outreach Director, Seniors Inc.

“Education!”

Molin Malicay

Molin Malicay, Executive Director, Sonoma County Indian Health Project

“One thing that could be done to improve health care at any level is for individuals to take better care of themselves and to be more aware about preventative medicine. Simply living a better lifestyle can be really easy, and it doesn’t have to cost anything.”

Beatrice Bostick, Jack Neureuter

Beatrice Bostick, Executive Director, Community Clinic Ole of Napa; Jack Neureuter, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance Medical Center of Healdsburg and Windsor

Beatrice: “I think it is important we foster better communication between health care providers, integrating care, focusing on outcomes … I think a public option is the only option.”

Jack: “On the national level, the best thing we can do it step away from the rhetoric and look at what we are actually trying to accomplish.”

Terry Tomasini

Terry Tomasini, Business Development Consultant, PlanIT Solutions

“I would like to see a free market; more freedom to compete from state to state and from area to area. Let the American entrepreneurship rise again. I would also like to see more individual initiatives to improve health care and less government.”

J. Mullineaux

J. Mullineaux, Vice President for Development, Community Foundation of Sonoma County, Leadership Santa Rosa Class 26

“Locally, I would like to see that everyone has health care coverage and a medical home.”

Nan Perott

Nan Perott, Marketing Manager, Redwood Health Services

“More competition between health plans and not leaving anyone out.”

Ruth Skidmore

Ruth Skidmore, Chief Executive Officer, Northern California Medical Associates

“We need greater physician and hospital alignment on the local and national level. Health care tort reform is badly needed.”

Nan Moon

Nan Moon, Employee Wellness Manager, Kaiser Permanente San Rafael

“Looking beyond the individual behavioral changes we can make, I think we also have to look at our built health care system and how we view the delivery of health care as a society.”