December 09, 2010 12:00 AM
PIKEVILLE, KY
Karen Damron, associate professor of nursing, was awarded a Mellon Foundation fellowship through Pikeville College and the Appalachian College Association to participate in the Salzburg Seminar, “Reforming Healthcare: Maintaining Social Solidarity and Quality in the Face of Economic, Health, and Social Challenges.”
Approximately 50 participants from 29 countries, including Chile, Columbia, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Great Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands, gathered in Salzburg, Austria in November to explore healthcare reform from a national and global perspective.
Representatives from the Nuffield Trust and the British Medical Journal led the weeklong session consisting of lectures, dialogue, questions and small working groups. While comparing results from small groups, Damron said different themes emerged, including the need for more accountability on the part of patients and primary care providers to prevent chronic disease, or properly manage it if it does occur. “An essential thing that I learned was that a decreased reliance on technology and an increased reliance on prevention was a key theme in the control of cost,” said Damron.
Damron was one of only five Americans and the only Appalachian College Association faculty member to attend.
The Mellon Foundation currently makes grants in five core program areas: Higher Education and Scholarship, Scholarly Communications and Information Technology, Museums and Art Conservation, Performing Arts, and Conservation of the Environment.