WINDBER RESEARCH INSTITUTE CHIEF WELLNESS/MEDICAL OFFICER AWARDED PROJECT CLINICAL HEALTH PROMOTION DIRECTOR POSITION BY PFIZER, INC
[Pfizer, Inc, New York] Matthew Masiello, MD, MPH, Chief Wellness/Medical Officer and Director, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Windber Research Institute was recently designated Project Director – Pfizer Clinical Health Promotion Research Project.
This Pfizer funded 2 year project will help support Dr. Masiello’s research on the public health advocacy roles of a hospital in the healthcare reform movement as well as further demonstrating the benefits of health promotion partnerships between government, hospitals and health service.
In national discussion of healthcare reform the emphasis has been placed on the cost of universal coverage and access to healthcare. There has been a dearth of comment regarding the role of “hospital systems” in providing a new and enhanced level of patient and community oriented health care. To date, the limited conversation has included the continued reliance on the technological resources available to health systems as well as the limited population based benefit of singular and integrated clinical programs and suggested strategies regarding the benefit of electronic medical records. Unfortunately, there has been little said on health promotion and disease prevention and the integration of all these important assets into a comprehensive plan of payment- coverage-hospital role-community needs.
For number of years, however, there has been significant conversation regarding the poor position of the U.S. as compared to other developed countries, in optimal health outcomes. Our poor performance has occurred despite the significant cost of U.S. healthcare. Though many of the developing countries have variations to their respective universal health care systems, the one consistent point of reference is an emphasis on the importance of formal health promotion disease prevention standards and strategies. We continue to wait for the appropriate application of evidenced based health promotion and disease prevention practices within the mission, services and program activities of a hospital system.
Suggestions and recommendations on how best to re-design our approach to health care has been offered by several health-promotion U.S. & European professionals. Hanne Tonnesen, MD, of Denmark and a colleague of Dr. Masiello, has demonstrated positive clinical and financial outcomes when formal health promotion programs are integrated with daily clinical practices. And, most recently, one of the largest healthcare systems in Europe has included into their health care team a trained public health professional to further develop and coordinate their worksite and community health promotion/disease prevention initiatives. A decade of experience in the development of a formal, hospital based health promotion/disease prevention team has been documented by Matthew Masiello, MD, MPH. Many hospitals and countries serving as members of the World Health Organization – Health Promoting Hospital Network have developed similarly progressive approaches to identifying their public health advocacy roles to the populations they serve.
Dr. Masiello’s proposal was selected for funding based on the clear potential that his research will serve as a resource to communities and hospitals in developing practical approaches and applications to successfully incorporating health promotion into their core mission.
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