In a 2018 wrap-up in Modern Healthcare, Steven Ross Johnson quotes de Beaumont Foundation CEO Brian Castrucci on the efforts of health providers to meet patients’ social needs. Highlighting the trend of healthcare organizations prioritizing wellness and prevention — including addressing patient needs in areas like housing, poverty, and food security — Johnson writes:
“But as interest in addressing social determinants has grown, action on broader public health issues has not kept up with the pace. ‘Healthcare moved from downstream interventions to what I would call mid-stream interventions, but we have still failed to go upstream,’ said Brian Castrucci, CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, an organization that supports local and state public health programs to advance public health.”
And on the lack of federal government support for public health issues:
“Castrucci said making progress on any of the major public health concerns came down to a matter of political will. He felt such an effort would ultimately require the kind of resources to successfully lobby for better health in the same way industries have lobbied for years on issues that have been detrimental to health. ‘Alcohol has a lobby, soda has a lobby, guns have a lobby,’ Castrucci said. ‘They’re all really well funded. Where’s the health lobby?’ ”
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