The Healthcare Challenge of the 21st Century

Born out of necessity Americas’ Forefathers knew that being medically self-sufficient was a matter of survival to the extent that in 1787 twenty four prominent Philadelphians founded the College of Physicians of Philadelphia http://www.collphyphil.org/erics/cpphistory.htm which is a not-for-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to advancing the cause of health, and upholding the ideals and heritage of medicine. In fact, today Americas’ National Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/index.html founded in 1836 invites you to use their library online as they offer material dating from the 11^th Century to present. So why I hear some folks talk about taking healthcare back to what our Founding Fathers envisioned I wonder how many citizens today could handle the Healthcare System of Americas’ Forefathers. 

And why Americas’ Ancestors over the last 150 years have worked hard to bring every community a hospital and the medical facilities needed by their citizens, being only 50 years old I can still remember hearing stories of back street and backwoods operations taking place in the 1960’s. So when you hear someone that America has the best healthcare in the world, ask them from what viewpoint do they make that zealous claim. For why I can say with complete conviction that My Brothers and Sisters of the 70’s have come a long way in ensuring Americas’ Community First Responders have worked hard to get every American to the hospitals and medical facilities in record time. Read the 2007 Joint Commission Report http://74.6.239.67/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=America%27s%27+hospitals+1970&fr=hp-psdt&SpellState=n-2276574654_q-nQ3tezO1BIxhqGvJoiF9lAAAAA%40%40&u=www.jointcommissionreport.org/pdf/JC_2007_Annual_Report.pdf&w=america%27s+america+hospitals+1970&d=NYt8fxlMTRaP&icp=1&.intl=us and then ask yourself can America do better. 

So why the Old Folks (those over the age of 30) may cry that the current Healthcare System works fine and that any reform is only going to hurt them. Seeing that the passing of Senator Kennedy proves that even with the best health insurance and medical care money can buy cannot keep a Human healthy. The question that “We the People” need to ask ourselves and Congress is what kind of Healthcare System does America need to provide Health Coverage and if need be Medical Coverage for the next generation of “We the People” in order that Our Government and Society can advance the cause of health and uphold the ideals and heritage of medicine.  

Because why none of us may know when the next breakthrough in bio-technology or discovery of a wonder drug will lead to you living over 100 years, did you know that there are things we can do right now that can greatly reduce medical costs while increasing the quality of care each human receives from Americas’ Healthcare System. For example; enhanced 911 Services can through remote screening and video up-link put our community first responders on the scene within seconds and help the ordinary citizen provide the first five minutes of healthcare so critical to saving the lives. And remote medical observation 24/7 in the comfort of your home with the help of new vital machines may someday lead to a Healthcare System that is beyond the wildest dreams of us all.  

So why I’m not going to say that Congress will every build the Perfect Healthcare System or be able to pay for Health Insurance for all Americans. Understanding that most Americans still can’t answer the simple question: Is a cut a Health or Medical Problem? And your grandparents will not allow me to exploit the difference between an Individuals’ General Practitioner and a Doctor of Medicine even if I would bring My Brothers and Sisters of the 70’s a robotic medical staff thanks to the Youth of the 60’s. I can say with complete honesty that “We the People” have a long road to haul in order to meet the Vision of Americas’ Founding Fathers.

This entry was posted on August 29, 2009 at 9:27 am and is filed under Health Care, Addressing the Issues of 09. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.