Gingrich, CHT host Luncheon, press
conference...Launches
Missouri Project...The Center for Health
Transformation joins local leaders at to discuss
goals for health transformation in Missouri
ST. LOUIS, MO (JUNE 19, 2007): Former U.S.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, founder of the
Center for Health Transformation (CHT), came to
St. Louis June 19 to join influential leaders
from throughout Missouri at a luncheon to
discuss next steps for CHT’s recently announced
Missouri Project.
Discussion revolved around how the state fits
into the Center’s vision of a 21st
Century Intelligent Health System that saves
lives and saves money, as well as specific goals
and areas of focus for the Missouri Project.
A press conference with Speaker Gingrich and
Missouri Project Director Julie Eckstein
immediately followed the luncheon. Ms. Eckstein,
former Director of the Missouri Department of
Health and Senior Services, joined the Center
for Health Transformation in March of this year;
in addition to leading the Missouri Project, she
also serves as Director of State Operations for
CHT.
Creating a 21st Century Intelligent Health
System of more choices of higher quality at
lower cost in Missouri is one of the major
undertakings of the Center for Health
Transformation, and this luncheon is intended to
accelerate that
effort.
Missouri faces a variety of health challenges,
including bearing the burden of a
greater-than-average population of people aged
65 and older (80% of whom have at least one
chronic disease).
Sixty percent of Missouri adults
are obese or overweight, almost double the rate
recorded in 1990. Moreover, nearly 30% of adults
in Missouri use tobacco – Missouri ranks third
in the nation for adult smokers – leading to the
deaths of more than 10,300 Missourians annually.
“We looked forward to this meeting with
community and industry leaders,” said Ms.
Eckstein, noting that the luncheon would
help guide the work of health transformation
in Missouri. “Once the big issues have been
prioritized, we will hit the ground running
to develop interventions or initiatives that
can help us achieve defined goals.”
Attendees at the event also were invited
to participate in a robust question-and-answer
session following remarks by Speaker Gingrich,
which outlined CHT’s vision for health
transformation and defined goals related to such
topics as prevention and wellness, health
information technology, covering the uninsured,
chronic disease management, the consumer's right
to know, improved access to care, and more.
The Center first announced plans to launch the
Missouri Project in April of this year,
committing the organization to the mission of
creating a healthy Missouri in which knowledge
saves lives and saves money for all Missourians.
The Project is an opportunity to replicate the
successes of CHT's groundbreaking Georgia
Project, launched in 2003, which includes
initiatives related to diabetes and obesity,
e-prescribing, eliminating minority health
disparities, creating affordable coverage for
all and increasing access to cost and quality
information. In both states, the Center sees a
unique opportunity to generate and implement
projects to test solutions that promote
value-based healthcare, increase access, and
reduce costs.
The Center for Health Transformation, founded by
former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is a
high-impact collaboration of private and public
sector leaders committed to creating a 21st
Century Intelligent Health System that saves
lives and saves money for all Americans.
The membership of the Center for Health Transformation is
comprised of employers, hospitals, insurers,
solution-providers, pharmaceuticals, government
leaders, physician groups, professional and
industry associations, research institutions and
think tanks, disease advocacy groups, and many
others who are dedicated to accelerating the
adoption of transformational solutions and
policies for better health and more choices at
lower cost. For more information, visit
www.healthtransformation.net.
