SPECIAL REPORT: Russell V. Judd, president, Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield
| Thursday, May 28 2009 06:52 PM
Last Updated Thursday, May 28 2009 06:52 PM
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Russell V. Judd
This year, with the new Obama administration and new Congress in Washington, our nation has a rare opportunity to achieve health-care reform. We must encourage our leaders to make the most of it.
As part of the Catholic Healthcare West family, we at Mercy Hospital believe health care is a fundamental human right and that every person in this country should have access to a minimum level of care.
Ideally, people should receive affordable, high-quality and compassionate care when they need it. That is why we must have a reformed system that is patient-centered, transparent and connected through clinical information systems that measure and track outcomes, reduce errors and reduce expenses.
As a provider of health care, we are compelled to be as efficient as possible and we have to be part of the solution that also includes universal coverage, stable financing, improved quality and across-the board accountability.
We believe that universal coverage is the first step. Once everyone is in the system, then the nation can begin to address the health needs of the community.
We also need long-term stable financing for health care. As we’ve seen all too clearly through the current recession, when people lose their jobs, they lose their health care. In a reformed system, people would be able to access their doctors and their hospitals when they need to, regardless of their employment status.
At the same time, the health-care system must improve its focus on quality. And one key is to align payment incentives so that excellent outcomes are achieved.
Lastly, everyone in the system must be held accountable for the job they do — including state and federal governments, as they have such a large impact on ensuring that care is fully available, adequately financed, affordable and as high-quality as possible.
It is important for all of us as business leaders, employers, health-care providers and consumers of the U.S. health-care system to make our voices heard in the months ahead so that leaders maintain the focus and momentum towards health-care reform.
