6 Time November 4, 2019While onsTage aT our inaugural TIME 100
Health Summit on Oct. 17, former U.S. President
Bill Clinton shared an observation gleaned from
attending his high school reunions (he’s only missed
one in 55 years): Clinton’s classmates who fared best
over the years are the ones who remain optimistic.
Optimism—about better outcomes, techno-
logical advances and the future of care—is a major
theme of this special issue of TIME, devoted to
what we as a society can do to seize this incred-
ible moment of possibility in health care. “Our
world has never witnessed a time of greater prom-
ise for improving human health,” writes Dr. Fran-
cis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of
Health for the past decade, in opening this issue.
Health is central to what we do at TIME. We’re
living through epic global events, with a news
cycle at warp speed, yet there is no topic more
personal or more important to our audiences than
their health and that of their families. Keeping
up with advances in medical research has never
been more important—or challenging. While
more information is available to patients than ever
before, it can be difficult to know what information
can be trusted.
There has also never been more innovation
in health, as the NIH’s Collins notes—and yet
unequal access remains one the blights of our age.The powerof optimismFrom the Editor
Edward Felsenthal,
ediTor-in-chief & ceo
@efelsenThalWhat, for example, is the biggest single factor in
determining how long each of us will live? It may be
your ZIP code, as we reported earlier this year. Here
in New York City, according to NYU data, average
life spans are almost 20 years longer for people
living on the Upper East Side than their neighbors
in nearby East Harlem. It’s a pattern of inequality
repeated across much of the U.S.These challenges —and opportunities—
are what prompted not only this issue but also
our TIME 100 Health Summit, which brought
together physicians and policy leaders, actors
and activists, scientists and CEOs in New York
City. It was an extraordinary day—part of a major
initiative at TIME, convening our TIME 100
community of the world’s most influential
people and working together toward greater
collaboration, action and progress.
I too am optimistic—having learned from
so many thoughtful people on our stage and
throughout the room at the summit. You will
find many highlights and insights from the event
throughout this issue, as well as video at time.com/
summit-videos.Felsenthal, center, with the summit’s co-chairs, TIME’s Alice Park and Dr. David Agus