The Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (JPHMP) began publishing in 1995 with a commitment to offer timely relevant information about population-based health programs. The focus of the first issue in the winter of 1995 was "Public Health in Reform." A quote from the first editorial is timely today: "It is appropriate that this first issue be devoted to the challenge of reform in public health that is inextricably linked to reforms in the delivery of medical care."1 The development of that issue was keyed to the Health Care Security Act proposed by President Clinton but not adopted by Congress. Articles in that initial issue described goals of expanding health insurance coverage to uninsured groups, controlling costs, enhancing quality, and expanding access to care.2 Preventive services were to be assigned to the medical care system, while new roles and responsibilities were forecast for public health agencies. This first issue was quickly outdated by failure of passage of the Act. Current, enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has brought these issues back to the fore with even expanded emphasis.

In the more than 16 years of Journal publication, public health has advanced on many fronts. JPHMP has made efforts to keep pace. Issues have focused on many of the highlights: core public health functions; evidence-based public health; prevention research centers; public health finance; rural public health; health disparity and accreditation; quality assurance; emergency preparedness; academic-practice linkages; and the built environment and others.

The progress of public health now will also be accelerated by the 2010 passage of the PPACA. The goals of the earlier efforts at health care reform, including the public health implications described in the 1995 Journal issue, have been recast. Koh and Sebelius3 of the Department of Health and Human Services forecast that PPACA will revitalize prevention in our communities. The extent and prospects for this revitalization is the subject of the first article in this March issue of the Journal, authored by Kenneth DeVille and this Editor. The inclusion of dozens of public health initiatives in PPACA and definite public health orientation can suggest a change in society's attitude and support of prevention. "But such change will require social conversion and will take time."4 The eventual magnitude of the impact of PPACA on prevention is linked to a number of societal and financial factors making the final result uncertain.

Another continuing theme in the JPHMP has been the importance of academic-practice linkages with an orientation toward contributors from both of these sectors. Guest Editors, Virginia Caine, Joel Lee, and John McElligott, are actively working with us to develop a "Teaching and Learning in the Community Issue" to be published in July. A call for papers resulted in a vigorous response. The issue will be highly relevant to current themes in education and practice including strengthening community-campus partnerships through service learning, community-based public health leadership training, and reaching the underserved through community-based participatory research.

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