We have often said that we anxiously await the day when organizations like ours will not be needed. With health reform, some have wondered if that day is here. Most people agree that health reform will not create a perfect system and that we have only begun creating a better system - there is much more work to be done.

The Communities Joined in Action Conference, which took place earlier this month in Denver, Colorado, focused on how health reform impacts community collaboratives. It prompted me to think even more about what the health reform means for Project Access NOW.

The conference tackled the role of community collaborative efforts, like ours, in improving health and responding to the prevailing chaotic environment. Of course, the wonderful thing about chaos is that you get to explore more possibilities because rules aren't yet fixed. We know that expanding coverage does not expand access and that increased access does not always result in better health. In this new environment, we have the opportunity to do things differently and more effectively. We need to seize this moment as individuals, organizations and as a community.

An important conclusion of the conference has been that though reform affects everyone and everyone needs to know what it entails, average citizens are intimidated by it. People tend not to understand it so they don't bother to try to understand it.  Most people only gather small bits of information that manage to stand out among the barrage of politically charged talking points that dominate the public debate.

To have a real discussion about health reform, one needs to be informed. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation has set up a Health Reform Resource website that explains the issue in a nonpartisan, and easy to understand fashion. Please take 9 minutes of your day to watch the "Health Reform Hits Main Street", which "explains the problems with the current health care system, the changes that are happening now, and the big changes coming in 2014." Check out all the other available resources on the Foundations website, and please pass them along to your friends and colleagues.

In Oregon, the best place to get involved in health reform efforts is the Oregon Health Authority. On our part, we've set up a page on our website with resources related to health reform.

The conference generated a list of action items around the reform that I'd like to share with you and invite you to take:

• Inform yourself
• Share the information with others
• Encourage others to inform themselves

Our commitment is to share with you any important resources, issues, or events that come up in connection with the health reform debate and implementation. Thank you for your support and involvement.

Sincerely,

Linda Nilsen-Solares
Executive Director