By Thomas Bognanno, Image: Getty, Forbes, April 21, 2023
On my desk, I have always kept a small hourglass. Inevitably, I am drawn to it throughout the workday. As I write this, I have only a few hours remaining as CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities. After more than 40 years of nonprofit leadership, the hourglass is a powerful symbol of how quickly time passes and the inevitability of change. More than that, it is a reminder that time is precious. With the hours, days and years we have left, we still have a calling in front of us.
We have urgent work to do if we want all individuals to have access to quality education, safe and healthy homes, adequate employment, transportation, healthy physical environments, food security and quality healthcare.
As those last sand crystals inexorably fall, I see more clearly than ever that the only way to achieve a healthy and equitable society—encompassing the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of human life—is to approach creating and sustaining healthier communities as part of a wider dynamic system: the social and political drivers of health. This is a complex system full of linkages, relationships, interactions and interdependencies—the root causes of most of our societal woes.
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