For this month's edition of Health Affairs, the preeminent health policy journal, I was asked to contribute my thoughts on the health care reform debate engendered by the presidential election season. I addressed the same topic in this journal in 1989 while on the White House staff. As I reflect on my views some 18 [...]

This week I had the privilege of visiting with Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, the President of the Republic of Malawi. Irving Hoffman, who directs the UNC Project in Malawi, and I traveled to New York, and met with the President there. He was in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. At our [...]

Improving safety and quality of care for our patients is usually difficult work that often goes unsung. That is why I was so excited to see our hospitals named among the 41 top hospitals in the U.S. for safety and quality for the second year running. This recognition from The Leapfrog Group, a leading national [...]

Below is a letter to the editor that was printed Tuesday in the News & Observer from Dr. Shelley Earp and me on the University Cancer Research Fund. Dr. Earp is director of UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. We had a news conference at the Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh last week to thank legislators [...]

At long last, I have been able to upload my photos from Malawi and Zambia. Enjoy!

This weekend I am in Annapolis, Maryland, meeting with a number of bright, energetic, young leaders. I am a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, and each year at this time we meet to get to know the national finalists in the White House Fellows program, and to make recommendations to the [...]

We are back in Lilongwe, after a MAGNIFICENT weekend in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. It was even better than we had thought. Irving Hoffman gave us wonderful advice on what to do for a short (three days and two nights) holiday. We left here on Friday morning, all in order, and on [...]

Before leaving Lilongwe, I want to thank three others who have helped me greatly on this trip: Irving Hoffman, who is director of the UNC Project, planned the entire trip and travelled here in order to accompany me on most of it. His creative energy, his commitment, his leadership and his winsome personality have combined [...]

Greetings from Lilongwe! I have really enjoyed getting to know the UNC Project and the team that leads it. Francis Martinson is the country director for the project, meaning he is overall in charge. He is Ghanaian, and he received his PhD in epidemiology from UNC School of Public Health. Mina Hosseinipour, MD, is the [...]

I toured the UNC Project today, and shook hands with and chatted with scores of people. They each are smiling, dedicated people — I am really impressed with the work here. This afternoon I visited the UNC Project’s Guesthouse, which recently opened on the grounds of the Kamuzu Central Hospital, right near the UNC Project. [...]