RWL #232
Juneteenth, Country Doctors, Competitive Federalism, & more!
Happy Father’s Day from the University of New Hampshire! I hope you had a chance to spend some time with your father today, or at least think of him. We were blessed to have a nice family gathering this afternoon - and we are still so appreciative of being able to do that without worrying.
It was the first official, Federally-recognized Juneteenth yesterday. I’m glad about that. It’s an appropriate holiday. I was listening to a podcast this past week and the guest, Ted Johnson (see Listen below), discussed the difference between the United States, a state with a mixed history of greatness and depravity, like every state, though unique, too, and America, and ideal. In his mind the state and the ideal are separable. The state is fallible and has done great things and failed at times as well. America, the ideal, and vision does not fail. It is the thing that the people who make up the United States and believe in the country as a project are striving for, and it is the thing that so many people around the world admire. I’d often expressed my view that America was more than a place or a people, but I’d never thought to separate the state that exists in the real, practical, hardscrabble world, and the ideal. The original Juneteenth, in 1865, was a historical moment when the state took a large step closer to the ideal - and that is a thing worthy of celebrating.
I’m up to a dozen responses on my question to you, “What advice would you give your 20-something self and why?” I’ll leave it open one more week, and then I’ll share a summary of the results. Someone shared a funny new acronym (at least new to me): OPO - other people’s opinions - as in, don’t worry so much about OPO. Cute! So here’s the link again - take a minute and share something! https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_54rogofirpruqhw
One more week for my summer class, then it’s finally on to break (and visiting my students who are on their internships).
Have a great week! Stay safe out there and enjoy the links!
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Read
What: SG2, 2021 Impact of Change Forecast Highlights
https://newsroom.vizientinc.com/content/1221/files/Documents/2021_PR_ImpactOfChange.pdf
Why: The American Hospital Association newsletter had a pointer to this slide deck, so I thought I’d check it out. It’s excellent. Some really interesting projections that strike me as quite reasonable given COVID and other factors. Definitely worth 5 minutes of flipping through if you’re in the healthcare sector.
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What: WSJ, One Family’s Lessons Learned From a Decade of Caregiving
Why: Tear-jerker alert - this is a touching story of the stresses of caring for a family member with Alzheimers. It also highlights some cautionary points, like the financial impact of end of life care - not in a terrible amount of detail, but raises a real issue - most people do not have long-term care insurance, nor do they have sufficient savings.
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Watch
What: CW. Eugene Smith’s Landmark Photo Essay, Country Doctor
https://www.life.com/history/w-eugene-smiths-landmark-photo-essay-country-doctor/
Why: I was looking for some olde timey pictures for my health systems course of physicians doing house calls and came across this fabulous photo essay from Life Magazine (remember Life? Wow - all those beautiful photo essays). Anyway, I thought you all might find this interesting to look at. One of the main themes of my course has been the connection between general economic growth and the delivery of health services. I feel like these pictures starkly illustrate the relative wealth we enjoy now, alongside the advances in medical care that most Americans have ready access to. (I know, technically this isn’t a “watch”, but it’s a photo essay, so I don’t really feel like it’s a read, either. :)
Here’s a write up about the essay in the Guardian that adds some dimension: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/may/14/coronavirus-frontline-hero-rocky-mountain-gp-healed-america-doctors-w-eugene-smith
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What: Juston McKinney, Live Free or Die
Why: McKinney is a local comedian, and he’s hilarious. And I use this piece to teach about competitive federalism - i.e., when states compete to provide better policy to attract citizens and businesses. McKinney tells about the differences in policy between Maine and New Hampshire, focusing on Portsmouth, New Hampshire which sits on the Piscatequa river, right at the border. Durham is only about a 10 minute drive to Portsmouth, so my wife and I go there all the time. McKinney captures the essence of New Hampshire perfectly, and also demonstrates competitive federalism perfectly, as well.
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Listen
What: The Good Fight, An Optimist’s Vision of America
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-optimists-vision-of-america/id1198765424?i=1000525246119
Why: This is the link to the podcast I mentioned in the introduction. This is a relatively new podcast, and part of the Substack explosion. The host, Yascha Mounk, interviews Ted Johnson, author of When The Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America. I have not read the book, and probably won’t, but the podcast was interesting.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next Friday!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
'It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)