Business Health Forum Announces New Executive Director

As the year winds to a close, we have some exciting news to share. Ralph Pollock, founder and president of the Business Health Forum, is resigning as executive director and is passing the torch to Teresa Tuschhoff. As the Business Health Forum's former policy director, Teresa has a successful track record engaging the business community on state and federal health reform initiatives as well as bringing the employer perspective to reform efforts across the state. Once a president and CEO of a worksite health and wellness company in St. Louis, MO, her background includes public affairs, grassroots advocacy and nonprofit development.

Ralph continues his dedication to the Business Health Forum's mission as a board member and advisor, and the transition will allow him to focus more time developing his Asia Pacific consulting business. Ralph founded the Business Health Forum in 2007 after being a part of the state's Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform and discovering that business owners as a whole, though greatly impacted by the rising cost of providing workers health coverage, were not very informed or engaged in creating a sustainable health care system. The organization's work has revolved around educating business leaders about the pressures on the current health care system, leading discussions of how it could improve, and sharing the business voice with policymakers.

"The country is on the verge of adopting some form of federal health care reform," says Ralph. "I'm confident that with Teresa's leadership the Business Health Forum is poised to begin working on thoughtful reform implementation. Much of the real work will happen at the state level and businesses will have to adapt to changes in how they and their workers purchase health coverage."