date:03/20 Year:2025
Letter from the President: Tranquility in the Midst of Chaos
Almost two years ago, on March 23, 2023, I took over the reins of the Presidency of ACPM from the outgoing President, Dr. Tonette Krousel-Wood. This transition was in her hometown of New Orleans, and I did not realize at the time, that I would be getting some lagniappe – a little something extra, as my term ends on May 8, 2025, a bit more than the anticipated two-year period!
Even as I am on borrowed time, this is my penultimate letter as ACPM’s President, and I want to address several changes at the HHS that have caused chaos across the medical community, both nationally and internationally.
date:03/06 Year:2025
Meet the Family at Your Professional Home
For many years and early in my career, I was a speech writer for the executive leaders at my organization. One of the tips I learned for framing the message is to find a quote and build around the meaning. As witnessed in some of my previous articles, I carry over that tip when sharing my message in ACPM News. If someone captured my thoughts so eloquently, why not borrow? This time, I struggled.
Not because I couldn’t find the right quote. It was just the opposite … I couldn’t narrow it down!
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team” – Phil Jackson
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford
“Unity is strength … when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” – Mattie Stepanek
And, the list can go on! What was the inspiration for my quest to find the perfect quote? The ACPM staff! Each day, I am amazed at how so few can accomplish so much. So, I thought it was time to shine a spotlight behind the scenes and give you a look at the dedicated, talented staff who work to support your professional home, ensure ACPM can advance its mission, and make all we do seem so effortless.
date:03/05 Year:2025
5 Things We Need To Do To Improve The US Healthcare System - Dr. Hunter Jackson Smith
ACPM Fellow Hunter Jackson Smith speaks with Authority Magazine on ways to improve the U.S. Healthcare System.date:02/20 Year:2025
Letter from the President: Can We Really MAHA By Cutting the US Public Health Workforce?
On February 18, 2025, the new HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., talked about working with “radical transparency.” Yet, he failed to address the more than 5,000 job cuts in his new department, ostensibly performed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is not an actual department in the government, but an advisory body with almost unlimited power, along with unknown oversight and legal status. So, Kennedy’s assertion that “Both science and democracy flourish from the free and unimpeded flow of information,” rings hollow!
A few days earlier, President Trump established the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission. But in the first four weeks since he assumed office, in addition to withdrawing from the World Health Organization and freezing funding for a multitude of public health programs, more than 200,000 federal workers have been fired, while another 75,000 of them have accepted buyouts. The majority of those fired were probationary employees, mostly recent hires, or in some cases, long-serving government employees who had recently changed roles.
date:02/19 Year:2025
ACPM Calls for a Measured Approach to Maintaining, Increasing and Deploying the Public Health Workforce
The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) urges a pause for any widespread firings of federal health workers, stressing the critical need for a well-staffed workforce to address the ongoing chronic disease epidemic and emerging health threats.date:02/13 Year:2025
ACPM Statement on HHS Leadership
(WASHINGTON, DC) The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) wishes to acknowledge the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and expresses its commitment to working collaboratively with the administration in achieving its stated goals of reducing chronic, preventable disease; given that the United States spends more than 70% of our healthcare budget on chronic disease treatment and management.date:02/07 Year:2025
Define Our Specialty’s Values with the ACPM Ethics Committee
Preventive medicine faces intense challenges today, ranging from rampant misinformation and disinformation to health disparities and inequity to applications of artificial intelligence in health ecosystems with unknown implications. What is the right course of action to address such issues, and what values and principles ought we apply? Ethics seeks to answer these questions and provide guidance.
The ACPM Ethics Committee serves as an important compass for preventive medicine by helping to define our values as a specialty. It maintains and updates the preventive medicine Code of Ethics and advises the Board of Regents of important ethical issues confronting the specialty and the College. The Committee also plays a vital role for the College by ensuring ACPM policies and documents are ethical and consistent with our values and bylaws.
date:01/24 Year:2025
The U.S. Must Lead, Not Leave the World Health Organization
(WASHINGTON, DC) The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) strongly recommends the Trump Administration reconsider its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).date:01/23 Year:2025
Letter from the President: The U.S. Must Lead, Not Leave the World Health Organization
Within hours of being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America, President Trump signed an Executive Order “Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).” 1
ACPM, working through its Advocacy Committee, has begun to prepare a response and will be putting out a public statement in the next 24-hours that strongly recommends the Trump Administration reconsider its decision to withdraw from the WHO.
We at ACPM recognize the importance of collaboration and prevention at the local, state, federal, and international levels. Constructive engagement, rather than disengagement and isolation, is what will best serve to protect and defend America. We live in a world filled with myriad disease entities, which respect no borders, as the COVID-19 pandemic recently demonstrated.