National Forum Priorities:
1. Sodium
2. Surveillance
3. Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
National Forum Chair Dr. Thomas Pearson’s Strategic Opportunities for 2010-2012:
1. Refine functions of the Coordinating Board/Executive Committee in light of organizational and personnel enhancements.
2. Reconsider membership and convention of the Leadership Council.
3. Charge Membership Committee with recruiting partners compatible with strategic initiatives.
4. Leverage expertise, repute, and organizational capacity to enhance resource acquisition for projects.
5. Define the annual National Forum meeting as the premier cardiovascular health policy meeting in the U.S.
6. Seize opportunities within healthcare reform legislation to advance the National Action Plan.
Implications of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to National Forum Implementation Groups
Action Priorities Group: Establishes a Prevention and Public Health Fund for an expanded and sustained national investment in prevention and public health programs, authorized by the Public Health Service Act
Communications Group: Planning and implementation of a national public-private partnership for a prevention and health promotion outreach and education plan to raise public awareness of health improvement across the lifespan.
Public Health Leadership and Partnership Group: Creates a National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council at the Federal level. Creates a national strategy to set goals and objectives for improving health
Organizational Capacity Group: State Health Care Workforce Development Grants, Healthcare Workforce Program Assessment, Public Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention, Grants to Promote Community Health Workforce and Fellowship Training in Public Health, Preventive Medicine and Public Health Training Grant Programs
Monitoring and Evaluation Group: Community Translation Grants, Evaluation of community-based prevention and wellness programs, CMS, AOA shall conduct an evaluation of existing community prevention and wellness programs, Understanding health disparities, Data collection and analysis and Effectiveness of Federal Health and Wellness Initiatives
Policy Research Group: Coverage of preventive health services, Medicare coverage of annual wellness visit providing a personalized prevention plan, Coverage of preventive services with grade of A or B by USPSTF, Incentives for prevention of chronic diseases in Medicaid, Nutrition labeling of standard menu items at chain restaurants and Employer-based wellness programs
Fundamental Requirements for the A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke:
1. We must communicate to the public at large and to policy makers the urgent need and unprecedented opportunity to prevent heart disease and stroke in order to establish widespread awareness and concern about these conditions as well as confidence in the ability to prevent and control them.
2. We must transform the nation’s public health infrastructure to provide leadership and to develop and maintain affective partnerships and collaborations for the action needed.