Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Our health care infrastructure is at stake. Here's what you can do about it.

Health care workers in a crowded hospital corridor

Our overwhelmed health care workers are desperately in need of support, writes Zaidane.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Zaidane is the president and CEO of Millennial Action Project.

In honor of National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, let's support our health care workers.

October is National Depression and Mental Health Screening month. Over the past year and a half, health care workers across the United States have tackled the Covid-19 pandemic on the frontlines day after day. They have cared for those we love with empathy, compassion and lifesaving critical skills. They are taking care of us — but who is taking care of them?

Our health care professionals have been tirelessly working under nearly impossible and unsustainable levels of stress to keep their communities safe, and it's taking a toll. In a recent study of frontline health care workers, 55 percent have self-reported burnout, and 62 percent say the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health. Alarmingly, three in 10 health care workers have considered leaving their chosen profession altogether during this pandemic.

What's more, 41 percent of our health care workers are millennials, and they will continue to comprise the health care workforce for decades to come. And yet, national labor shortages are forcing fewer employees to shoulder more of the work: The American Nursing Association estimates a need for 1.1 million registered nurses in the U.S. by 2022. It is of paramount importance that we work to create a sustainable health care system that takes care of its workers — not just to ensure great outcomes for patients, but also to retain and attract the hardworking health care staff we depend on.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Amidst staggering numbers of hospital admissions and new Covid-19 cases, our health care infrastructure is at a critical point: Our health care workers are in desperate need of support. The good news is that each of us can make a difference, today. In observance of National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, here's how you can help:.

  1. Recognize their efforts and sacrifice. First and foremost, thank them for their service. Whether this is on a personal level by checking in with friends and family who work in health care, or on a macro level by organizing community events to share their critical needs and perspectives from the frontlines, providing space to let them share what they have seen and are experiencing can be critical.
  2. Build trust with one another by listening to the advice of our trusted medical professionals. They've devoted years of training, studying and practice to fulfill the call for a cause bigger than themselves.
  3. Find the resources those working in health care ask for. Does your friend need help finding a therapist? Does your local hospital need more volunteers? Does your city need more contact tracers? There are lots of ways to help those on the frontlines without having formal medical training.

The effects of doing this work now will be long lasting. Young people are at the beginning of their careers, with so much possibility and talent. It is in our best interest to create a culture of support — especially as it relates to mental health — in the workplace for these early professionals so they can continue to grow into the leaders and pioneers that make America, well, America. If we act now, we can do more than just guard against future workforce shortages. We can instill a culture of support, empathy, and care — for everyone in the health care system.



Read More

Jimmy Carter watching election procedures

Former President Jimmy Carter observes voting procedures in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1990.

Cynthia Johnson/Liaison

Celebrate Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday and his work on elections

Merloe provides strategic advice on elections and democracy in the United States and internationally. He worked with former President Jimmy Carter on elections and democratic transitions on four continents.

On Oct. 1, President Jimmy Carter turns 100 years old. According to reports, he is concerned about the dynamics surrounding the 2024 election and hopeful that the United States will turn the page. That is no surprise given his devotion to this country and his dedication to fostering genuine elections around the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Young businessman holding his head and pondering
Hinterhaus Productions/Getty Images

When should you start worrying?

Chaleff is a speaker, innovative thinker and the author of “To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Brake a Toxic Leader.” This is the fifth entry in a series on political followership.

We recently read in The Washington Post that men in Afghanistan are regretting that they did not stand up sooner for the rights of their wives and daughters, now that the Taliban is imposing severe standards of dress and conduct on them.

Duh.

That’s the oldest regret there is when it comes to oppression:

Keep ReadingShow less
Cynthia Richie Terrell
RepresentWomen

Meet the change leaders: Cynthia Richie Terrell

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

Cynthia Richie Terrell, the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen, is an outspoken advocate for institutional reforms to advance women’s representation and leadership in the United States.

Terrell and her husband, Rob Richie. helped to found FairVote — a nonpartisan champion of electoral reforms that give voters greater choice, a stronger voice and a more representative democracy. Terrell has worked on projects related to women’s representation, democracy and voting system reform in the United States and has helped parliamentarians around the globe meet United Nations goals for women’s representation and leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less
Blurred images of a hand waving an American flag
Arman Zhenikeyev/Getty Images

How to save a democracy

Chaleff is a speaker, innovative thinker and the author of “To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Brake a Toxic Leader.” This is the fourth entry in a series on political followership.

The presidential debate has come and gone. The sittingAmerican president is rattling the saber of long-range weapons for Ukraine. The sitting Russian dictator is expelling the West’s diplomatic staff. The outgoing president of Mexico has pulled off the largest-ever change of a judicial system in a substantial democracy. The prime minister of Israel defies the populace by continuing to use bludgeons to free hostages who increasingly are freed post-mortem. The presumed winner of the presidential election in Venezuela has fled the country.

This was last week. When did politics become so consequential?

Answer: It always has been.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bill Gates (but not that Bill Gates)
Issue One

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Bill Gates

Minkin is a research associate at Issue One. Clapp is the campaign manager for election protection at Issue One. Assefa is a research intern at Issue One.

Bill Gates, a registered Republican, was re-elected to the Maricopa County (Ariz.) Board of Supervisors in 2020 after first being elected in 2016. Before joining the board, he served on the Phoenix City Council for seven years, from 2009 to 2016, including a term as vice mayor in 2013.

Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, is the fourth-largest county in the United States, and it has the second-largest voting jurisdiction in the country, with about 2.5 million active, registered voters and about 4.5 million residents. Gates represents roughly 900,000 residents as a supervisor for the 3rd district.

Keep ReadingShow less