WASHINGTON, April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Public Health Association is gearing up for National Public Health Week 2004: ELIMINATING HEALTH DISPARITIES: Communities Moving from Statistics to Solutions. As concern grows about increasing health disparities across the country, APHA and its partners will hold a series of town hall meetings around the country from April 5 - 11 to highlight community programs that are implementing creative solutions to eliminate health disparities. The week’s kick-off event will be a town hall meeting held in Washington, DC that focuses on solutions to racial and ethnic health disparities.
WASHINGTON, DC Town Hall Meeting: Eliminating Ethnic and Racial Health Disparities by Moving the Nation from Statistics to Solutions Monday, April 5 10:00 AM EDT
The Washington, DC, town hall meeting will launch National Public Health Week by highlighting programs being used to solve racial and ethnic health disparities in communities around the country. The Honorable Richard Carmona, U.S. Surgeon General will serve as a panelist. Other participants will include Nathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH, Deputy Assistant Secretary U.S. Office of Minority Health; Dr. Elena Rios, National Hispanic Medical Association; and Michael Bird, National Native American AIDS Prevention Center.
LOCATION: Kaiser Family Foundation, 1330 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005.
MEMPHIS, TN Town Hall Meeting: Eliminating Rural Health Disparities in Tennessee Tuesday, April 6 10:00 AM CDT
The Memphis town hall meeting will highlight programs that are working to solve rural issues of access and utilization of care in communities around the state. Panelists include Commissioner Kenneth S. Robinson, Tennessee Department of Health; State Representative Joe Armstrong and Bill Jolley, Tennessee Hospital Association.
LOCATION: St. Andrew African Methodist Episcopal Church, 876 South Parkway East.
CHICAGO, IL Town Hall Meeting: A Public Response for Eliminating Health Disparities through Health Literacy Wednesday, April 7 9:30 AM CDT
The Chicago town hall meeting will highlight programs being used to improve health literacy around the state. Panelists include State Senator Donnie Trotten (D-17th District); State Representative Cynthia Soto (D-4th District); Eric Whitaker, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health; Susan Scrimshaw, Dean of the School Public Health at the University of Illinois; and Dr. Joanne Schwartzberg, AMA’s Health Literacy Project.
LOCATION: Hilton Garden Inn, Chicago Downtown, 10 East Grand Avenue. NEW YORK CITY Town Hall Meeting: Working Together to Ensure a Healthy Environment Thursday, April 8 10:00 AM EDT
The New York town hall meeting will highlight solutions to problems caused by environmental pollution, including post-9/11 respiratory problems, asthma and lead poisoning. Panelists include Peggy Shepard, West Harlem Environmental Action; Dr. Van Dunn, NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation; and Dr. Edward Fishkin, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center.
LOCATION: Metropolitan Hospital, Draper Hall, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 1901 1st Avenue.
OAKLAND, CA Town Hall Meeting: California’s Collaborative Approaches to Defeating Health Disparities Friday, April 9 10:00 AM PDT
The Oakland town hall meeting will address solutions to the increasing number of health disparities for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS being used in communities around the state. Panelists include Larry Cohen, Prevention Institute; Anne Kelsey-Lamb, Regional Asthma Management and Prevention Initiative; and Paul English, California Environmental Health Tracking Program.
LOCATION: Elihu Harris State Building, Main Auditorium, 1515 Clay Street. SOLUTIONS DATABASE
In addition to the town hall meetings, APHA will be releasing a searchable, online database during National Public Health Week that contains information about programs from nearly every state around the country that are creating solutions to a wide variety of health disparities. This database is designed as a resource to help communities learn about new ways to solve disparity related problems in their area. After its launch, APHA will continue to build on and promote the contents of the database so that communities can constantly learn about new ways to move from statistics to solutions in eliminating health disparities. To access the database, please visit http://www.nphw.org/.
To find out more information National Public Health Week, please visit http://www.nphw.org/.
CONTACT: Michelle Molloy of Spitfire Strategies, +1-202-293-6200, ext. 206, for the American Public Health Association; or David Fouse of the American Public Health Association, +1-202-777-2501
American Public Health Association
CONTACT: Michelle Molloy of Spitfire Strategies, +1-202-293-6200,ext. 206, for the American Public Health Association; or David Fouse of theAmerican Public Health Association, +1-202-777-2501
Web site: http://www.nphw.org/
