’The ABCs of Health Disparities’ conference tackles barriers that keep underserved populations from receiving health care

Thursday, September 08, 2005

"The ABCs of Health Disparities: Access, Behavior, Costs" will be held Thursday, Sept. 15, and Friday, Sept. 16, at the TASCA Ornelas Activity Center, 3402 Old Omen Road in Tyler. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler is sponsoring the conference. TASCA stands for Tyler Area Senior Citizens Association.

The conference is designed to increase awareness about the barriers that keep underserved populations from accessing primary and preventive health care. It also seeks to promote collaboration between organizations that are working to end health disparities.

Kimberly McCoy-Daniels, director of the Office for the Elimination of Health Disparities at the Texas Department of State Health Services, will talk about the state’s efforts at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 15. Opening remarks from UTHSCT President Dr. Kirk A. Calhoun will precede her presentation.

• "Faith-Based Initiatives," Chantay Walker, Ph.D., director of health education and promotion, Metropolitan Public Health Department, Nashville, Tenn.;
• "Addressing Health Disparities - Weighing the Cost," Marsha Regenstein, Ph.D., director, National Public Health and Hospital Institute, vice president for research, National Association of Public Hospitals, Washington, D.C.;
• "Addressing Mental Health Disparities," Charles Blair, Ph.D., director of nursing education and research at UTHSCT;
• "One Community’s Approach to Addressing Health Disparity," Carolyn Harvey, Ph.D., dean, School of Nursing, East Texas Baptist University, Marshall;
• "Promotoras: The Lay Community Health Worker," Denise Bates, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor, Department of Health Studies, Texas Woman’s University, Denton; and
• "Hispanic Cultural Differences," Enrique Ramirez, Ph.D., lecturer and writer, retired university professor, Tyler.

• "Health Disparities in America," Kenneth Shine, MD, executive vice chancellor for health affairs, The University of Texas System, Austin;
• "Disparities in Health and Health Care: Creating the Climate for Change," B. Lee Green, associate professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station;
• "Geriatric Health Disparities," Dr. Calhoun, president, UT Health Science Center at Tyler; and
• "Cultural Issues/Language Barriers," King Davis, Ph.D., director, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, University of Texas School of Social Work, Austin.

The conference is designed for physicians, nurses, social workers, other health care professionals, public officials, and any other individuals who are interested in the topic. Conference attendees may earn continuing medical education credits and continuing nursing education credits.

On-site registration begins at 8 a.m., with the conference lasting until 4:35 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 and noon Friday, Sept. 16. Cost of the conference is $125 for physicians, $85 for other health care providers, and $50 for all others, with no continuing education credits awarded. The fee includes conference materials, continental breakfasts, and lunch on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Conference planners include: UTHSCT, the East Texas EXPORT Center, East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, Northeast Texas Public Health District, Texas Department of State Health Services, and Trinity Mother Frances Health System.

For information or to register for the conference, call (903) 877-7255.