Shaping the Solution
In this inaugural edition of the renamed and revised newsletter, I have the pleasure to introduce several new and important developments in the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowships Program and to report on some recent and notable events. Welcome to “The Inner Circle”, connoting the beginning of our latest venture into electronic connections and information sharing.  With that in mind, we are simultaneously announcing the official launch of the brand new RWJ Health Policy Fellowships Program website.  You will all want to visit www.healthpolicyfellows.org and check it out.

Both the newsletter and the website are intended to enable fellows and alumni more opportunities to interact with each other and with the Washington health policy community.  We will be counting on each and every one of you to help keep both the newsletter and website as current and informative as possible.  Let us know what you think and, more importantly, if there are features you would like to add. Like most of us, these are works in progress and will benefit from some nurturing by all of us.

Also important for the future, the Foundation is sponsoring an in depth evaluation of the Program that will be led by Jack Hoadley at Georgetown.  His team will be contacting a sample of alumni and fellows this spring and summer. I encourage everyone to respond to requests from his office (his assistant’s name is Elizabeth Eaton) if you are asked to participate. On a related note, we are preparing for our triennial Advisory Board retreat this May.  This year the Board will take a close look at many aspects of the program ranging from marketing to the selection process, placements and the more recent experience with additional funding, allowing more fellows extended stays in their work assignments. Any of you who would like to add your own ideas and suggestions to the Board about where we should be headed are welcome to contact either me or our Board Chair, Dr. Bob Graham at the University of Cincinnati. You can find contact information for RWJ Fellows Board members by logging in to the Alumni Only area of the website using the username and password provided to you in a separate email and searching the Program Directory.

And in the “notable events” arena, I just returned from two amazing state site visits with our seven ‘05-‘06 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellows.  With enormous thanks to our alumni hosts David Pollock (‘98-’99) and Max Michael (’86-’87) for their hard work and commitment to the program, we enjoyed the most comprehensive and educational adventures in Oregon and Alabama, respectively. Read more in the What's New section.

Finally, remember that we will be looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the upcoming Alumni Retreat October 7-8 with the IOM Annual Meeting October 9-10.  This year we will be registering for the retreat on line and posting a page where you can see the names of all your fellow alumni who plan to be there.

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RWJ Fellows Visit Oregon and Alabama
From assisted suicide to methamphetamines, and health disparities to faith-based health intervention programs, fellows explored and actively deliberated many of the most challenging and diverse health policy issues being confronted by Oregon and Alabama, two innovative but widely differing states. During the week of March 19th, through an intense series of encounters with state and local government officials, academia, health press, and key opinion leaders to better understand the interaction between federal and state policy, the fellows witnessed the conundrum of state surpluses and mounting deficits in essential services.

"The RWJ State visits were an invaluable opportunity to see the state to state variability in health care delivery and their approach to policy and politics,” said 2005-2006 Fellow Martina Bebin. “We had an opportunity to view and discuss the down stream effects at the state level of Federal Health Care programs and the various creative ways of addressing health policy issues.” On more than one occasion, it became clear that these contacts and experiences will be valuable as the fellows head back to their positions on Capital Hill.

Website Photo Gallery
Please take time to visit the website photo gallery, which features pictures of RWJ Fellows throughout the decades. We need your photos, particularly between the years 1986 and 2000. It's best to have digital copies of photos, but we can also scan originals and send them back to you.

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The Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is seeking a Program Officer for its Program on Quality Improvement & Efficiency.

The CNA Corporation
Multiple positions in Health Services Research are open from the CNA Corporation. They are Clinician - Health Services Research, Fellow - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Senior Scientist - Health Services Research.

West Virginia University
WVU Department of Community Medicine is seeking a Research Director for its Institute for Health Policy Research.

For more information about these job announcements, please log in to the Alumni Only section of the website using the username and password you received in a separate email.

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Alumni Found Center for Health Policy
In a state struggling with uninsurance, racial and ethnic health disparities and limited resources, two RWJ HPF alumni are seizing the opportunity to make a difference. Kristofer Hagglund (’00-’01) and Karen Edison (’99-’00) are the co-directors and co-founders of the Center for Health Policy at the University of Missouri—Columbia.

Hail to the Chief
RWJ Health Policy Fellowships Program Alumni, Charles Rice ('91-'92), was inaugurated as the fifth President of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences on February 7, 2006.

RWJ Alumnus Honored by AAAS
St. Louis, MO - Dr. David Michaels, 1993-1994 RWJ Fellow, received the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. David’s work in seeking justice for workers who became ill after working in nuclear weapons programs and his efforts in advocating scientific integrity in public policy making were honored at the 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Mo., in February.

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If you have comments or questions about the newsletter or fellowship, please contact us.