2002 New England Governors' Conference AUGUST 26, 2002
Quebec City
Quebec, Canada
 AGENDA
- Opening Remarks
Governor Lincoln C. Almond, Chairman
New England Coalition for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
Bertram A. Yaffe, Chair, NECON
Regional Transmission Organization - A New England Perspective
Status Report
FY 2003 Program and Administrative Budget
Election of Chairman for 2003
Other Business
Next Meeting
February, 2003, Winter Meeting, Washington, DC, NGA
Closing Remarks
Governor Jane Swift, Vice Chairman
LETTER: RI GOV. LINCOLN ALMOND, NEGC CHAIR To:
New England Governors From:
Lincoln C. Almond
Governor of Rhode Island
Chairman Subject:
New England Coalition for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention (NECON) Date:
August 26, 2002
NECON is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization, which was established in 1984, with working groups and health-examining
task forces representing multiple disciplines from all six New England states. Its mission is to serve as an instrument for the
development and enhancement of disease prevention and health promotion public policies in New England.
In 1986, the New England Governors' Conference, Inc. charged NECON to interact with the states' chief health officers and
other policymakers throughout New England and to submit recommendations periodically for the improvement of the health
status of the region. At our past meetings, representatives of NECON have presented us with reports and recommendations on such issues as mental illness, substance abuse, and asthma.
Today we are joined by a panel of presenters who will provide us with another update on health issues of significant importance to New England. The presenters are:
- Mr. Bertram A. Yaffe, Chair, NECON
Ms. Laurie Robinson, Women's Health Coordinator, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
- Mr. Durrell J. Fox, Project Coordinator, New England HIV Education Consortium
Background materials on NECON and the presenters are attached for your review.
At the conclusion of the NECON presentation I have requested my Chief of Staff Joseph Larisa, to present a resolution concerning Lyme disease and other tick borne illnesses. REMARKS: BERTRAM A. YAFFE, NECON CHAIR
THE NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS' CONFERENCE, INC
Quebec City, Quebec
August 26, 2002
We thank the New England Governors' Conference and the governors individually for this opportunity to describe briefly the contents of and processes that produced the report before you.
NECON is a coalition of the New England state health departments, the region's schools of public health, Region I of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, as well as medical societies, insurers, legislators, and representatives from industry,
labor and voluntary associations––always with a focus on health concerns and with emphasis on preventive strategies.
Although currently there are disturbing trends that threaten the nation's health, New England remains the healthiest region in
the United States. There are, of course, demographic, economic, and institutional reasons for this. And, New England has
always led the nation in public health expertise, research, and premier health care institutions. However, we believe that this
ranking can also be attributed to unique-in-the-nation regional crossborder sharing of experiences and expertise among the six states.
That collaboration was inspired and energized by your Resolutions #51 and #68. The resolutions charged NECON to interact
with a broad spectrum of health policymakers and advocates throughout New England and to submit recommendations periodically for the improvement of the health status of the region.
Despite New England's high ranking, there are still too many vulnerable uninsured and underinsured, disparities abound, and
although the region's premier institutions attract enormous funding for health and health care research, there remains disconnect among discovery, health policies, and community practice.
One of the trends that I referred to is the troubling combination of rising medical costs with stagnant incomes that results in
healthcare's ever-increasing share of personal and governmental budgets––currently at the highest levels in at least a decade.
This, of course, is a challenge that you discussed at the National Governors' Association conference in July and the governors
fully recognize that this dilemma is predicted to continue, and perhaps intensify in the near future.
The other trend––an epidemic of obesity––is most alarming because it impacts on these rising costs as well as on the health of
the people. Obesity is a root cause of heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and an ever increasing pandemic of diabetes.
According to a recent Rand Corporation report, obesity is associated with a 36 percent increase in inpatient and outpatient
spending and a 77 percent increase in medications. Obesity has the same association with chronic health conditions as does twenty years of aging. In children the prevalence of obesity
, not just overweight, has more than doubled since the 1960's and the prevalence in adults rose more than 50 percent in just the last decade.
On the positive side, obesity is preventable. We are pleased to report to the governors that NECON has received funding from
both Abbott Laboratories and the National Institutes of Health's Division of Nutrition Research to create a Regional Prevention
and Control of Obesity Task Force/Working Group. This group, under Dr. Walter Willett, Chair of the Department of Nutrition at
the Harvard School of Public Health, is comprised of over 90 professionals and advocates from New England's public, private,
and voluntary sectors. The task force is well into its work and will present a Strategic Plan for increasing the proportion of
each state's population that consumes a nutritionally appropriate diet and is engaged in daily physical activity to the New England Governors' Conference in 2003.
With me today are two panelists who will very briefly describe our health promotion and disease prevention initiatives in two other areas of enduring concern to NECON.
Ms. Laurie Robinson is the Women's Health Coordinator in Region I for the Office on Women's Health within the Department of
Health and Human Services, the government's champion and focal point for women's health issues. Her role is to coordinate and
promote a more comprehensive focus on women's health at the regional, state and local levels. In this capacity she currently
chairs both the Region I Women's Health Workgroup and the NECON Task Force on Women's Health.
Following Ms. Robinson, Project Director Durrell J. Fox of the New England HIV Education Consortium will give a brief overview of
the changing demography in the HIV/AIDS challenge and the rise of the Hepatitis-C co-infection epidemic.
After these brief presentations the panel will be available to answer questions from the governors. We thank you for your
concern about these important issues and for the opportunity to make these presentations.
LETTER: CHARLES C. TRETTER, NEGC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR To:
Bertram A. Yaffe, NECON Chair From:
Charles C. Tretter
Executive Director
New England Governors' Conference Date:
September 5, 2002 Dear Bert:
I thank you once again for your participation at the meeting of the New England Governors' Conference, Inc. in Québec City on August 26, 2002.
Your informative update on health issues of significant importance to New England was appreciated. The NEGC will continue to look forward to your reports and recommendations on health issues for the region.
Again thank you, and if I can be of help to you at any time, please give me a call. Sincerely, Charles C. Tretter
Executive Director
NEGC
CONFERENCE FALL 2002 NEWSLETTERHEALTH CARE ISSUES DISCUSSED AT AUGUST NEGC MEETING
A meeting of the New England Governors' Conference, Inc. was held August 26, 2002 in Quebec City during the NEG/ECP Annual
Conference. Governor Lincoln Almond of Rhode Island chaired the discussions, which focused on health issues. A summary follows. HEALTH UPDATE
The Conference received its annual briefing on key health care issues by a panel from the New England Coalition for Health
Promotion and Disease Prevention (NECON) in August in Quebec. The issues were: obesity; women's health issues; and HIV infection among the young.
- Obesity
NECON Chairman Bertram A. Yaffe described the expanding epidemic of obesity and its effects on the health of New Englanders and on personal and governmental budgets.
"Obesity is a root cause of heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and an ever-increasing pandemic of diabetes," Yaffe
pointed out. "And, according to a recent Rand Corporation report, obesity is associated with a 36% increase in inpatient and outpatient spending, and a 77% increase in medications."
"On the positive side," Yaffe continued, "obesity is preventable." He reported that NECON has received funding from both
Abbott Laboratories and the National Institutes of Health to create a Regional Prevention and Control of Obesity Task
Force/Working Group. This group, under Dr. Walter Willett, Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of
Public Health, will present a Strategic Plan for increasing the proportion of each state's population that consumes a
nutritionally appropriate diet and is engaged in daily physical activity. An update will be presented to the NEGC next year.
- Women's Health
Laurie Robinson, Chair of the NECON Women's Health Task Force, reported that the New England states have been making
steady inroads in the area of infrastructure in women's health. Rhode Island has the first legislatively mandated Office on Women's Health. Maine
has a Women's Health Campaign, and has directed state funds to initiate some of the recommendations from this Campaign. Both Massachusetts and Maine
have received funding from the Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA) to support infrastructure development for women's health. Vermont has dedicated staff
to work on Women's Health and sponsored a conference on women and cardiovascular disease. They also have a
women's health coalition supported through HRSA funds. The Commissioner of Public Health in Connecticut has sponsored two conferences and compiled a data book on Women's Health.
New Hampshire has recently sponsored a comprehensive Conference on Adolescent Health that built on some of the NECON Task Force recommendations.
Ms. Robinson, who is also Regional coordinator of the Office of Women's Health with the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, commented: "As each of the New England states struggles with budget priorities we must continue to
promote a comprehensive approach to women's health and seek to address the parts of the lifespan which are less well served in our health care system––adolescents and elder women."
- HIV in the Young
Durrell J. Fox, Project Director of the New England HIV Education Consortium, reported that "there are more HIV+
(positive) youths living in New England and the nation than at any time in history." Due to advances in treatment and
care many children, born with HIV, are living into adulthood. "Along with the advances and progress in HIV management
and treatment," he said. "In New England we must continue to make primary and secondary prevention and education
resources available for at-risk youth. Even though the number of adolescents identified living with HIV is a relatively small
number compared to the adult cases, it is estimated that 1 in 5 people living with HIV are likely infected as adolescents."
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