Resources for Teachers and Students on C. Everett Koop
Prepare: The C. Everett Koop Institute, CEKI, which
is associated with Dartmouth College, works to promote health
and well-being by forming educational partnerships between
the medical community and organizational decision-makers.
Dr. Koop, the former U. S. Surgeon General, is a professor
of surgery at the Dartmouth Medical School, and serves as
Senior Scholar at the institute. His biography
can be found on the CEKI website.
Read:
C. Everett Koop's Architects
of Peace essay is excerpted from an article titled "Protecting
Medicine in the Twenty-First Century," written as part
of Science Magazine's "Essays on Science and Society"
series. In it, he examines the problem of managed health
care companies where profit, not health, is the prime objective.
Explore: During his tenure (1982-1989) running the
Office of the Surgeon General, Dr. Koop transformed that
institution, expanding the Surgeon General's role to become
America's chief health educator. To this day, the Surgeon
General plays a key role in setting public health priorities
for the nation. To find out what current health issues are
viewed as priorities, log onto the Surgeon
General's website.
Write: Until very recently, there has been a dearth
of study regarding the relationship between health care
and peace-building. Part of this is because, before we can
assess the role of a health-care system in conflict resolution,
we must first deal with the question of whether health care
is a basic human right. If it is, then access to health
care becomes an issue of social justice, and therefore has
ramifications for peace. Should we consider access to health
care to be a fundamental human right? Is there any theoretical
basis to claim that societies where universal health care
is assured, even to the uninsured, would experience reduced
levels of violence? Compose a three-to-five page essay examining
this question in which you cite at least two expert sources
from within the health-care community.
Extend: C. Everett Koop founded a non-profit organization
called "Shape Up America!" whose mission is to
inform the public about the importance of maintaining healthy
body weight via a process of making small lifestyle changes.
In this case, the "extend" portion of our lesson
plan might better be considered "how not to extend."
Those interested in weight management might find it helpful
to participate in the "Shape
Up & Drop 10" program.
Additional Resource: The National Library of Medicine
has made their collection of C.
Everett Koop's papers available on their website.
In addition to papers surrounding Dr. Koop's famous Campaign
for a Smoke-Free America, there are papers on such issues
as the medical rights of children, reproduction and family
health, the AIDS epidemic and the politics of public health.
Biography of C.
Everett Koop
