As a former executive at one of our nation’s leading health insurers, I’ve had an insider’s view into the ongoing transformation of our health care delivery and health insurance sectors. Few industries have dominated the public policy agenda at the national, state and local levels as has the health care sector.
To say the past two decades have been turbulent is an understatement. As we enter the 2020 election cycle, presidential and congressional hopefuls of both parties vow to keep the health care debate front and center. As the election gets closer, we can expect to be barraged with nightly servings of cable TV “breaking news” coverage from health care town halls, candidate debates and special interest demonstrations in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina – every state with a primary election. And, we’ll no doubt read our share of head-scratching Tweets from the White House. Understandably, the public discourse surrounding health care policy is almost always emotional. And for too long it has mostly focused on what’s wrong or not working in health care – the uninsured, double-digit premium increases, hospital and physician consolidations, executive compensation, Big Pharma, medical malpractice, insurance fraud.
That’s why I am pleased to see that Independence Blue Cross (my former employer and long-time client of Ceisler Media) has announced a major campaign to draw positive and much deserved attention to a critical element of the complex health care delivery system – the role of nurses. It’s a role that often goes unnoticed and is routinely underappreciated, but one that’s vitally important in the health and well-being of our communities. The “Celebrate Caring” campaign seeks to highlight the daily contributions these dedicated women and men make to improve the health and well-being of patients in the Philadelphia region. The campaign, which culminates during the May 6-12 National Nurses Week, seeks to promote the value of nurses, engage the public to identify outstanding nurses, celebrate and thank nurses who are making an impact and demonstrate the diversity in nursing. The Celebrate Caring campaign is just the most recent example of Independence’s longstanding commitment to nurses, complimenting thousands of scholarships it has awarded to deserving nursing students and educators across Southeastern Pennsylvania in the past 10 years.
I suspect that regardless of your political affiliation, or whether you are from the most urban of our great cities or the most rural of counties, most Americans would gladly come together, put their political differences aside and agree on this basic point – nurses are the glue holding our health care delivery system together. Nurses are the unsung heroes of health care.
Isn’t it refreshing to see these competent, caring and compassionate heroes recognized in such a meaningful and well-deserved manner?
