Our Efforts

Our Efforts | Public Education / Media | Website Launch | Summit on Public Health

Our public health system is at a crisis point. Facing budget shortfalls, counties across the state are considering dangerous cuts to public health services and funding. The Washington State Nurses Association knows that our communities can’t afford any more reductions in public health. In response to this looming crisis, WSNA has launched a new campaign to save public health.

The goal of the WSNA Campaign to Save Public Health is to:

• Educate the public and policymakers about the importance of public health
• Raise awareness about the current funding crisis
• Give people the information and tools to get involved
• Prevent additional cuts at the local level
• Secure a long-term adequate and stable source of funding for public health

The severity of this crisis and potential for long-term impact on health in Washington demand immediate and far-reaching action. We must act now to prevent counties from slashing public health funding any further while also beginning the work of developing a long-term, stable and adequate funding source for the future. WSNA is addressing both the short-term and long-term threats to public health with the WSNA Campaign to Save Public Health, both engaging the public now to keep funding on the county level at current levels and working with key leaders to develop a statewide funding solution for the future.

This issue is a top priority for WSNA because public health and public health nursing are the foundation of our health care system.  It is the most cost effective system for disease prevention and health improvement and is also our first line of defense in responding to bioterrorism and in disaster preparedness. Yet, only 2% of the total health care dollars are spent on public health services, and Washington ranks 42nd in the nation in per capita spending on public health.  Public health funding in Washington State has been grossly inadequate over the past decade.  These additional cuts, as proposed by many of the counties, will place communities at unacceptable risk. 

Components of the campaign include WSNA convening a Summit on Public Health with key stakeholders, public education and media, and legislative advocacy for additional funding in 2009.

Public Education/Media

The public education/media portion of the campaign includes opinion editorials, letters to the editor, e-mails to county officials, paid advertising, flyers, and bumper stickers. 

The 4 week advertising campaign (September 16th -October 19th) in Spokane, King, Snohomish and Whatcom County will feature billboards and bus boards to draw attention to this crisis.  We will reach nearly 200,000 viewers daily and over 5 million viewers throughout the month at the following locations:

• Spokane – 3 billboards at Washington & Boone, Lincoln & Broadway, and Broadway & Monroe
• Everett – 2 billboards on Broadway and Rucker
• Bellingham – 5 bus boards in downtown
• Seattle – 15 bus boards in Seattle and 6 billboards on Rainier, Lake City Way, Meridian, Queen Anne Ave, Boren, and Smith in Kent.

Launch of new website - www.SavePublicHealth.com

A critical part of the WSNA Campaign on Public Health is the launch of a new website.  It will serve as the central resource center for:

• information about the crisis
• background on public health and public health nursing
• action alert center with easy ways to send messages to your county officials
• sample letters to the editor
• links and resources
• update on WSNA’s efforts

WSNA Summit on Public Health

With funding for public health in jeopardy in counties across the state, WSNA hosted the ‘Summit on Public Health’ to address this looming crisis.  Held on Friday, September 12th, the packed room of over 40 key stakeholders demonstrated the pressing need and importance of the forum. Attendees came from all corners of the state and represented a variety of organizations and interests in public health ranging from public health district administrators to government officials to leaders of health care and advocacy organizations.

The morning began with a panel discussion on ‘Impact of the Funding Crisis’ featuring presentations from several public health districts in the state. Taken as a whole, the picture painted was bleak. As funding has eroded over the past decade, public health districts have already streamlined to provide only the most necessary and critical services. There is nothing left in their budgets to trim. These new cuts would be a devastating blow to the foundation of our health system. Public health districts across the state reported that staff cuts were imminent and administrators were beginning the difficult process of figuring out which programs would have to be cut or passed off to other organizations that may or may not have the capacity to keep up with demand.

The second panel discussion on ‘Action Strategies’ looked forward and asked what could be done to save public health. Immediate intervention on the state and local level is needed to either prevent these cuts from occurring or to restore funding in communities that are already in jeopardy. Unfortunately, budget shortfalls are affecting every part of this state and both state and local government officials are likely to be faced with difficult budget decisions. It was noted that being able to put a face or a human story on public health could make the argument for more funding resonate much more deeply with policy makers. As the beginning of an effort to raise awareness of the impending funding crisis and give people the tools to get involved in the issue, WSNA revealed its new Campaign to Save Public Health which was praised as an important first step.

The attendees were then split it into two workgroups, one addressing short-term solutions and one addressing long-term solutions. After discussing strategies, the group came together again to report back on their findings. There was significant overlap in ideas between the two groups, pointing to clear action areas that would be beneficial both now and in the future. These include:

• Educating as many people as possible about what public health is and why it’s the foundation of our healthcare system. An education campaign would be both a short-term and long-term effort, with the immediate goal of preventing any more cuts in public health funding. The media needs to be engaged in the issue to raise awareness among the general public. Policy-makers might need a more data-driven approach in addition to the personal stories.
• Personalizing public health and making everyone feel connected to it. Personal stories of people helped by public health, compelling visuals of public health, and specific examples of the cost saving public health provides over the long-term were all raised as potential outreach tools.
• Broadening the coalition of support for public health by engaging as many stakeholders as possible including business, labor, other health interests and the public. Keep momentum and support for public health strong throughout the legislative session so that public health remains a top priority when final budget decisions are being made.
• Using the group gathered at the Summit on Public Health as a foundation for this coalition and planning follow-up meetings so that the energy of the summit is not lost. The Public Health Roundtable was also discussed as a potential driving organization for these efforts, possibly requiring the addition of a full-time, dedicated project manager.
• Beginning to research where public opinion lies on this issue in preparation for some kind of ballot measure to fund public health. It is suspected that awareness is very low but that most people, if educated on the subject, would be in favor of increasing public health funding. Such research would be necessary before launching any kind of ballot initiative or referendum.

At the conclusion of the summit, there was agreement and enthusiasm for the group to reconvene in three months to evaluate progress and build on the work of the summit. WSNA will also report back on the success of the Campaign to Save Public Health and discuss next steps for the campaign. With many counties working through budget processes during the fall, the next meeting will focus on action steps on the county level to prevent any more cuts to public health services or funding as well as action steps on the state level to secure additional public health funding in the 2009 Legislative session.