Thank you, Dean Ball, for your introduction, and for being an ardent advocate for improved healthcare, and, of course, for your great work leading our School of Health Sciences, and for transforming our students into leaders.
And thank you to Dr. Summer, who will deliver the keynote address. I’m looking forward to hearing your perspective on how we can enhance collaboration among health-care professionals throughout Michigan.
Welcome to Healthology, a symposium where science, practice and social interests meet, and where we can “inspire innovation in the healthcare industry.”
And welcome to Oakland University…
We know you’re attending this symposium with a sense of purpose…
…and we hope you leave with a sense of momentum and a renewed commitment to making significant changes in the delivery, timeliness and quality of healthcare.
Now, more than ever, those of us in “health” and “care” must think and act innovatively. That means addressing upstream social determinants of health to achieve better downstream care.
We meet in the spring, at approximately the two-year mark of the greatest public health threat in our nation’s history. We must and we can find ways to win the battle against the spread of COVID-19, and what will be likely other pandemics that come our way.
And we must collaborate to find solutions to the many problems in the delivery of healthcare that were expose during the pandemic, especially healthcare inequities, which reveal a lack of fairness and preparedness.
Many of you are on the frontlines and deal daily with the stark realities of healthcare delivery.
I look forward to hearing the stories of creative problem solving, fortitude and how you have turned a challenge into an opportunity for better healthcare.
While there is great uncertainty about the future, we must continue to be engaged in a conversation that connects theory to best practices – all for the purpose of providing timely and quality healthcare in support of best possible public health for our communities.
Our symposium, Healthology, represents our collective and relentless determination to advocate for better “health” and “care”.
Each of us sharing our expertise and best-practice stories will provide encouragement and inspire us to be more resilient and resourceful.
My hope is that we will gain momentum from the many invigorating conversations… and those conversation will lead to positive action that shows the power of collaboration as we work to improve our public health.