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Public Health Business Collaborations
Partnerships in healthcare can either be a gift or a curse. It all depends on how it is
viewed. Imagine being diagnosed with a detrimental illness with no known cure. Doctors tell
you to go home and decide how to live out your remaining days. You have a family, small
children, and great friends you are unprepared to leave behind. You begin to scramble with fear,
making doctor’s appointments and looking for someone to offer a bit of hope almost to no end.
The thought of that scenario alone is heartbreaking. When a person is sick, it can be confusing to
understand a diagnosis, medical terminology, and even insurance objections. The thing is that
people need help navigating the healthcare system. Having a place to go that collaborates with
the healthcare system bridges the communication gap between patients and medical
professionals. Information is the best form of advocacy. When a patient can partner with a
patient advocate or even with an organization that collaborates with healthcare, it can ease the
fears of what is next. A caring and experienced professional who can walk alongside and help
absorb the shock of a significant health care diagnosis, to help them assemble the information
that they need and the confidence needed to participate in the treatment that lies ahead and to
prepare for decision-making is a necessity, because in the United States of America, it is simply
not enough to be facing a life-threatening illness. The thing is that doctors know about medicine
and should be honest about their limitations. The limitation is getting involved with
complications from insurance companies and more. The bottom line is that families that are
dealing with major healthcare crises may benefit from healthcare business partnerships which is
discussed in an article written by Elizabeth Majestic, who addresses The Need to Create
Partnerships with the Business Sector.
When thinking about Partnerships in healthcare, it begins with collaboration with a
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business with the same vision: to build a better healthcare system. Three changes in the public
health landscape drive the need for public health administration to participate in the partnership.
According to Majestic (2009), political and social forces drive changes. When healthcare
emergencies arise that impact the quality of life; such as those that arose following the impact of
the World Trade Center attacks or due to COVID-19, they immediately cause a need for
healthcare collaboration in helping a larger group of people in need at one time. Additionally,
Majestic (2009) reports that substantial shifts in demographics and economic profiles drive these
changes. This is due to the rising cost of medical treatment, prescriptions, and more. Following
the COVID-19 crisis, many healthcare workers began to flee from their positions due to mental
health concerns that arose, as well as a lack of partnerships available.
According to the research (Majestic, 2009), we can determine that public health
professionals have two compelling reasons to seek partnerships with the business sector more
actively and strategically. The first reason is using the workplace to improve health. The second
reason is based on societal changes and their potential impact on public health partnerships
(Majestic, 2009). In addition, the following trends underscore the need to partner with the
business sector: 1) the public’s health has become big business; 2) there will be less money for
public health programs; and 3) there is an increasing need for public health professionals but a
shortage of workers (Majestic, 2009).
The healthcare industry continues to grow; as the largest industry in 2006, healthcare
provided 14 million jobs, with 7 of the 20 fastest-growing occupations being in health care
related fields (Majestic, 2009).
Health goals can be reached by combining the knowledge and expertise of public health
with the resources of the business sector (Majestic, 2009). There are so many partnerships that
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have achieved success in improving community health and population health overall.
According to CDC - Cooperative Agreements and Partnerships - STLT Gateway (2023),
Public health partners have the reach, influence, access, and capabilities to coordinate an
effective public health response and to strengthen public health systems services. The Public
Health Infrastructure Center is an organization that helps rebuild and reimagine how our
buildings and power supplies function within the healthcare system. This organization
coordinates funding opportunities that provide capacity-building assistance to grantees (CDC -
Cooperative Agreements and Partnerships - STLT Gateway, 2023). This organization helps to
promote the public and protect communities in the United States. American Hospital
Association, also known as AHA, opens the door to new possibilities that make healthcare safer,
more accessible, and more affordable. AHA’s motto is to lead, connect and transform the future
of health care so that one day they can achieve a society of healthy communities where all
individuals reach their highest health potential.
The World Health Organization is involved in many partnerships and collaborative
arrangements. Emergency Medical Teams Initiatives was created in 2014. This organization
enhances preparedness and promotes the rapid development and efficient coordination of
Emergency Medical Teams to minimum standards to reduce loss of life and prevent long-term
disability due to disasters and outbreaks (WHO Collaboration: Partnerships, n.d.).
Every Woman Every Child was created in 2010, and this partnership organization
addresses the major health challenges facing women, children, and adolescents (WHO
Collaboration: Partnerships, n.d.). Additionally, Family Planning 2020 was created in 2012. It
is a global partnership that supports the rights of women and girls to decide freely and for
themselves whether when and how many children they want to have (WHO Collaboration:
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References
CDC - Cooperative Agreements and Partnerships - STLT Gateway. (2023, April 10).
Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/partnerships/index.html
ECCLESIASTES 4:9 KJV “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their
labour.” (n.d.-a). Www.kingjamesbibleonline.org. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Ecclesiastes-4-9
Majestic, E. (2009). Public Health’s Inconvenient Truth: The Need to Create Partnerships with
the Business Sector. Preventing Chronic Disease, 6(2).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687845/
WHO Collaboration: Partnerships. (n.d.). Www.who.int.
https://www.who.int/about/collaboration/partnerships
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