Today the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published an op-ed article by Dr. Thomas Hansen, CEO of Seattle Children’s Hospital, which discusses how the steep rise in children with chronic illnesses over the last 50 years is pushing hospital executives to closely monitor and incorporate disease trajectories into the strategic planning.
The article, located on page a13 of the editorial section, also examines the healthcare impact for children with chronic conditions in Washington state during a recession. Families who have children with chronic conditions rely heavily on employment-based health insurance and public insurance such as Medicaid, which are often the first impacted during an economic downturn.
Dr. Thomas Hansen provides readers with supporting patient data points from Children’s as well as the Washington State Department of Health to demonstrate how healthcare is evolving for children with chronic conditions. From a PR perspective, this is an excellent example of how an organization can leverage trends and analytical data to share a perspective on important local issues.
Op-ed articles appear in the editorial/opinion section of daily newspapers and are a great way to help establish thought leadership and build credibility for an organization and its executive team. At the same time, these articles allow organizations such as Children’s to voice an opinion.
Dr. Hansen concludes the article by saying, “What keeps me up at night is that upheavals in our economy might overrun our ability to properly care for our children. Then I think about everyday challenges our children with chronic conditions have. I see them conquering fear, overcoming limitations and fighting for a better life. No matter what the greater economy is doing, we are obligated to fight for better health for our children. And I know we will.”
We applaud Children’s work to raise awareness of this important topic. By sharing their perspective in local newspapers like the Seattle P.I., the hospital is helping to secure healthcare resources for children with special needs, now and in the future.
To read the full Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, click here.