As past presidents of APHA, we know how important it is to take effective actions to improve health and save lives. It's also important to prevent risks and damage from methods that have not been tested or shown to be safe and effective.

Vaccines have prevented serious diseases like measles and polio. New treatments have helped cure some cancers and allowed others to live longer and fuller lives. Mammograms have caught breast cancer sooner, allowing countless lives to be saved with early treatment. Child car safety seats have prevented deaths and serious injuries.

These successes happened because we tested to find out what works and what can be done to prevent disease or harm, and then put it into action.

It's important to remember that people often focus on disasters, but they don't see all the problems that didn’t happen because prevention worked. For instance, many people get sick from E. coli, but if we didn't have safety measures in place to keep the bacteria from being spread, primarily through food, many more people would become sick and possibly die.

Federal agencies that test treatments and actions play a key role in making sure they're safe and effective. For America’s health to improve, we need strong leaders heading the agencies that oversee health, public health and health research.

What makes a good leader for improving America’s health?
Strong health agency leaders need to understand diseases and their causes, value research and focus on preventing health problems. They need to support what has been shown to work, like vaccinations and water fluoridation. Leaders also need to make sure there are enough skilled researchers, the right technologies and the proper facilities to develop and test strategies to prevent and fight diseases.

Effective leaders in health agencies need to be able to manage large organizations and drive change, and they should be experienced in doing so. They need to work with experts in health and listen to people who have personal experiences with health issues. Leaders must also admit when something isn’t working and take action to fix it. Finally, they need to communicate clearly with the public, giving honest and accurate information.

What does a new administration bring?
New administrations bring change, and change can be difficult and daunting with such a big, important system in a country as large and diverse as ours. But change presents opportunity. As a new presidential administratio

n assumes office, we are taking the opportunity to remind ourselves and our nation that we have many successes in public health and can succeed again.

We believe that we all have the same goal — a healthy America where everyone can thrive. We also want the U.S. to continue to be a leader in health research, helping to create better health for everyone. We can always do better. We owe it to ourselves to work for a healthier future — for our elders, our children and generations to come. We look forward to working together to have a healthy America.

— Linda Degutis, DrPH, MSN, 2008 APHA president

Supported by former APHA Presidents Pamela Aaltonen, PhD, RN; Myron Allukian Jr., DDS, MPH; Michael E. Bird, MSW, MPH; Lisa M Carlson, MPH, MCHES; Chris Chanyasulkit, PhD, MPH; Cheryl Easley Allen, PhD, RN; José Ramón Fernández-Peña, MD, MPA; Joyce Gaufin; Jay Glasser, PhD, MS, FFPH; Camara Phyllis Jones, MD, MPH, PhD; C. William Keck, MD, MPH, FACPM; Deborah Klein Walker, EdD; Shiriki Kumanyika, PhD, MPH; Patricia Mail, PhD, MPH; Linda Rae Murray MD, MPH; Thomas Quade, MA, MPH, CPH; Carmen Rita Nevarez, MD, MPH; Walter Tsou, MD, MPH; and Faye Wong, MPH

Photo courtesy National Highway Traffic Safety Administration