Jackson officials return from national conference

Enthused from attending a national conference on access to health care, four community leaders plan to locate uninsured children in Jackson County and find them insurance coverage. Representing Jackson at the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education and Families regional leadership academy in Denver last week were Mayor Martin Griffin; County Commissioner Julie Alexander, chair of the county's Human Services Committee; Molly Kaser, president and CEO of the Center for Family Health; and Mary Cunningham-Deluca, director, Children's Programs, Community Action Agency. "The event allowed me the opportunity to see the many challenges cities around our country currently face and what an asset we have with our Center for Family Health in the availability of health-care services in the Jackson community," Alexander said. All four participants echoed Alexander's comments about the benefit of having a federally qualified health center in the community when discussing access to care. "I was very excited to see we were in the forefront of enrollment and access to health care because of the work the Center for Family Health brings to our community," Deluca said. Nine other communities were represented. Getting children coverage helps control preventable diseases, helps families avoid financial problems due to unaffordable medical bills, and assists cities in cutting down on first-responder calls for avoidable illnesses and health crises. The next step in Jackson, Kaser said, is to convene a steering group that starts with the four conference participants and reaches beyond to create a plan to expand area children's health-care coverage. The leadership academy was part of the institute's Cities Expanding Health Care for Children and Families initiative. The costs--including travel, lodging and food--were funded by a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies. Published: Mon, Aug 5, 2013

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