Atlanta Regional Health Forum - PressReleases -
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Published on: 3/26/2008
Last Visited: 9/12/2008
The forum's advisory board recently appointed Dr. William "Buck" Baker and his wife, Mary Kay Kohles-Baker, as executive directors.Dr. Baker recently retired from his position as vice president of medical services at Piedmont Hospital.
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The organization is now a nonprofit corporation, headed by Dr. William "Buck" Baker Jr. and his wife, Mary Kay Kohles-Baker.While serving as medical director at Piedmont Hospital, Baker became increasingly aware of the number of health issues not being addressed by cash-strapped hospitals throughout the region."What I saw firsthand was that Piedmont and other local hospitals were struggling just to stay alive," Baker said.
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Baker brings an incredible amount of energy and devotion to the table.And this is really the first time we have leaders not only in the field of health, but in a large number of disciplines coming together to see what they can do to solve this problem.""What we're trying to do is change the way people think about health care," Baker said.
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"Most folks, when they think health care, think of just the uninsured and the homeless on the street," said Dr. William "Buck" Baker Jr., who serves as executive director of the Atlanta regional Health Forum.His wife, Mary Kay Kohles-Baker, a registered nurse and a social worker, serves as co-director.The new nonprofit organization is working to get out the message that health-care issues include just about everyone, even those with good insurance, Baker said.The Atlanta Regional Health Forum was named a finalist in the Community Outreach category of Atlanta Business Chronicle's annual Health-Care Heroes Awards.
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Baker, a 1961 graduate of Emory University's School of Medicine, advocates seeing the big picture.Baker recently retired from his position as vice president of medical services at Piedmont Hospital, so he knows how hospitals struggle to cover their own costs.And in his years of private practice in St. Petersburg, Fla., he volunteered at a public clinic that expanded to include a food bank, clothing distribution and shelters for domestic violence victims.After seeing how health issues in one Florida county were intertwined with many issues, he realized the enormity of his task in the five-county region that includes Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb and Clayton."Trying to do this here for five counties is a little bigger bite," he said.It's no accident that the group's temporary quarters are in borrowed space at the ARC, a group dedicated to studying and coordinating metro Atlanta's transportation issues.Baker and others see the logic of extending the regional approach to health care."The Atlanta Regional Commission has had 30-plus years to coordinate transportation, air and water quality issues," Baker said."We don't have a similar group looking at health care for the region.""There are so many organizations, agencies and associations," he added, and each has its own budget, board and executive director.
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This broader definition of health is what the group is all about, Baker said.
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"We are talking about creating a single payer, because the payment process for medical care is where the problem lies with our health-care system," said Dr. William G. "Buck" Baker Jr., executive director of the Atlanta Regional Health Forum, which supports the legislation.
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