Law Case Study: Public Health System

Case Study: Public Health System
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Leadership is the act of rallying people or a certain organization towards a common goal. Good leadership inspires people to achieve their true potential through strong human relations. Additionally, effective leadership in most organizations provides: quality services, a sense of unity, room for personal growth, work satisfaction, a sense of vision and direction while creating healthy environment for innovation. This essay purposes to expound on the role of leadership in public administration.
The 19th century was known for the ‘great men’ and women it produced. These people are still remembered for their unique leadership qualities. From them we learn that great deeds have the ability to shape history. Philosophers like William James and Fredrick Nietzsch further stated that history would be different if a great man was suddenly incapacitated. A milder version of this phrase states that a few men will have the ability to leave a mark on history in times of great social need. However, change should start from a local level. For instance, an effective health system can stems from the collaboration of people from all government levels be it state, federal and local. In the United States of America, government of all levels is responsible for creating good health conditions for all citizens. The state governments are responsible for monitoring health conditions on a state level while the federal government is responsible for monitoring health conditions in the country as a whole. Policy makers are therefore needed in order for the financial and political support of governmental health agencies. In 2001, the flaws in the health system became apparent when the threat of bio-terrorism became more than a myth. In that year, many people contracted anthrax from exposure to mail. This compromised communication in federal, state and local levels by making it difficult, uncoordinated and inaccurate. Labs became engrossed with testing both real and fake samples. A stable leadership should be in place to adequately maneuver medical practitioners in crises such as this and to manage other chronic illnesses.[National Academies Press. (2010). The future of the public's health in the 21st century.] [National Academies Press. (2010).]
The division of the governmental public health is partly responsible for the lack of cohesion in the different levels of government. Most political bastions believe that the state and federal government share a responsibility to assure the nation’s health. When put in a historical perspective, the state and local government play a huge role in this responsibility. However, the federal government has the resources, expertise and has an obligation to assess the nation’s health and make recommendations that will improve the nation’s health. In the year 1988, the Future of Public Health showed that America’s public health system was a mess. The organization did a report that was solely focused on showing the scope of health activities and the role of government agencies in implementing them. Its findings paved way for recommendations based on three issues. The first issue was the goal of public health. The second issue was the government’s role in the mission. The third issue was the responsibility of each government level. The main goal of public health was to fulfill the conditions of healthy citizens. The government’s role was assessing health status and needs, developing policies and assuring the necessary services are provided. The Future of Public Health determined that the citizens living in every state should have access to public health systems. This was because, research showed that citizens living in places like mountainous Arizona often experience high mortality rates due to the lack of health facilities. Last but not least, the organization determined that the federal government was responsible for aiding states, addressing policy issues and setting national health standards.[Clayton, R. (2013). Public Health: Back to the Future. Frontiers In Public Health, 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2013.00012] [Clayton, R. (2013).]
The leader of the Future of Public Health portrayed 4 key qualities of a leader. First and foremost, the leader understood and adequately interpreted the environment in which he operated in. A leader should be able to feel what lays ahead, the opportunities and challenges the organization may face before actually seeing them. Leaders who only see what is there are often inadequate in a fast changing world. Seeing what lies over the horizon does not ...