00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 30 01 Relating to public health and a prevention compact. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS this state continues to lead the nation in negative health indicators, 04 including tobacco use and alcohol abuse; and 05 WHEREAS state residents continue to rank poorly in rates of obesity and lack of 06 physical activity compared to other states, and these negative indicators can lead to long-term 07 illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases that require costly and ongoing 08 health care; and 09 WHEREAS the state ranks second in the nation in per capita public health costs; 10 every layer of government in the state spent over $1,000,000,000 on health-related costs in 11 2005, and, despite these substantial expenditures on health care, the state still has a low 12 ranking in the overall health of its population; and 13 WHEREAS, under the current system, the state's health care costs continue to rise, 14 often resulting in lower expenditures for standard preventative health measures; and 15 WHEREAS the state must develop a health care strategy that provides opportunities 16 to advance the quality and accessibility of health care so that the overall health of state 01 residents will be improved; and 02 WHEREAS the state has a high rate of uninsured residents who often cannot afford 03 preventative health care programs or medical assistance when sick, and these behavioral 04 patterns can result in a higher incidence of long-term illness that often leads to catastrophic 05 levels of debt; and 06 WHEREAS the high number of uninsured residents in the state translates into poor 07 physical and financial health; and 08 WHEREAS medical training in the state for health care providers is not sufficiently 09 funded to produce qualified health care workers to occupy the many unfilled health care 10 professional positions statewide; as a result, medical practitioners and health care workers are 11 recruited from outside of the state to fill these positions, thus depriving the state's present and 12 future health care workers of good careers and well-paying jobs; and 13 WHEREAS there is an increasing need for translators who can communicate with 14 patients for whom English is a second language, and the lack of qualified translators creates 15 barriers to receiving adequate medical treatment; 16 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature invites state departments, all 17 local governments, private and nonprofit businesses, and individuals to join in forming the 18 Alaska 2007 Prevention Compact; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that each compact member may voluntarily craft and 20 promote the member's own health preventative or curative initiative in the arena of the 21 member's unique experience or interest, that the compact member's plans and efforts will be 22 reported as voluntary presentations by private and public media and Internet websites, and 23 that the method and content of the initiatives, as well as the method of promotion, will be at 24 the discretion of each individual member. 25 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable William Noll, 26 Commissioner, Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development; the 27 Honorable Marc Antrim, Commissioner, Department of Corrections; the Honorable Roger 28 Sampson, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early Development; the Honorable 29 Karleen Jackson, Commissioner, Department of Health and Social Services; the Honorable 30 William Tandeske, Commissioner, Department of Public Safety; the Honorable Mark R. 31 Hamilton, President, University of Alaska; Richard I. Mauer, Chair, State Board of Education 01 and Early Development; Elaine P. Maimon, Chancellor, University of Alaska Anchorage; 02 Steve Jones, Chancellor, University of Alaska Fairbanks; John R. Pugh, Chancellor, 03 University of Alaska Southeast; Douglas North, President, Alaska Pacific University; 04 Stephanie Wheeler, Executive Director, Alaska Office of Faith-based Initiatives; Brenda 05 Moore, Alaska Office of Faith-based Initiatives; the Honorable Stanley Mack, Mayor of the 06 Aleutians East Borough; the Honorable Mark Begich, Mayor of the Municipality of 07 Anchorage; the Honorable Michael Swain, Sr., Mayor of the Bristol Bay Borough; the 08 Honorable David Talerico, Mayor of the Denali Borough; the Honorable Jim Whitaker, 09 Mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough; the Honorable Fred Shields, Mayor of the 10 Haines Borough; the Honorable Bruce Botelho, Mayor of the City and Borough of Juneau; the 11 Honorable John Williams, Mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough; the Honorable Joe 12 Williams, Mayor of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough; the Honorable Jerome Selby, Mayor of 13 the Kodiak Island Borough; the Honorable Glen Alsworth, Sr., Mayor of the Lake and 14 Peninsula Borough; the Honorable Timothy Anderson, Mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna 15 Borough; the Honorable Edward Itta Sr., Mayor of the North Slope Borough; the Honorable 16 Roswell Schaeffer, Sr., Mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough; the Honorable Marko 17 Dapcevich, Mayor of the City and Borough of Sitka; the Honorable Dave Stone, Mayor of the 18 City and Borough of Yakutat; Paul Sherry, Chief Executive Officer, Alaska Native Tribal 19 Health Consortium; Carolyn Crowder, Health Director, Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association; 20 Eben Hopson, Jr., Executive Director, Arctic Slope Native Association; Robert J. Clark, 21 President and Chief Executive Officer, Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation; Patrick M. 22 Anderson, Executive Director, Chugachmiut; Julie Bator, Health Director, Copper River 23 Native Association; Lona Marioneax-Ibanitoru, Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments; 24 Chris Devlin, Executive Director, Eastern Aleutian Tribes, Inc.; Karen Bachman-Carter, 25 Health Administrator, Ketchikan Indian Community; Wendy Tisland, Health Director, 26 Kodiak Area Native Association; Helen Bolen, President, Maniilaq Association; Rachel 27 Askren, Metlakatla Indian Country; Wilson Justin, Executive Vice-President and Health 28 Director, Mt. Sanford Tribal Consortium; Violet Rice, Health Director, Native Village of 29 Eklutna; Casandra Trenton, Health Director, Native Village of Tyonek; Sarah Stokes, Health 30 Director, Ninilchik Village Traditional Council; Joe Cladouhos, President and Chief 31 Executive Officer, Norton Sound Health Corporation; Crystal Collier, Executive Director, 01 Seldovia Village Tribe; Ileen Sylvester, Vice-President, Executive and Tribal Services, 02 Southcentral Foundation; Ken Brewer, Health Director, Southeast Alaska Regional Health 03 Consortium; Josephine A. Huntington, Health Director, Tanana Chiefs Conference; Gene 04 Peltola, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation; 05 Benna Hughey, IHS Health Program Director, Valdez Native Tribe; David Talerico, 06 President, Alaska Municipal League; Tim Bourcy, First Vice-President, Alaska Municipal 07 League; Tim Beck, Second Vice-President, Alaska Municipal League; Joan Fisher, President, 08 Alaska Primary Care Association, Inc.; Marilyn Kasmar, Executive Director, Alaska Primary 09 Care Association, Inc.; Rod Betit, President, Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home 10 Association; Linda Fink, Vice-President, Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home 11 Association; Brian Saylor, President, Alaska Public Health Association; Don Smith, 12 President, Alaska Academy of Physician Assistants; Ashley Marquardt, President-Elect, 13 Alaska Academy of Physician Assistants; Cathy Giessel, Alaska Nurse Practitioner 14 Association; Michael Ford, Legislative Liaison, Alaska Native Health Board; and the 15 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable 16 Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.