ACU is pleased to announce that Trish Mendoza, LCSW, and Earle Rugg have joined its Board of Directors. "Both Trish and Earle are extremely accomplished individuals; their expertise and commitment to health care for the underserved will greatly enrich ACU's board," said Kathie Westpheling.  

Trish has 17 years of clinical practice experience in which she focused on health outreach and promotion to underserved populations. She currently serves as a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry and adjunct faculty at her alma mater, Texas State University-San Marcos in San Marcos, Texas. "Organizations like ACU are working to influence health care policy and make healthcare more inclusive. Social workers are essential members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team and I am pleased to bring the voice of my discipline to the board," Mendoza said about her appointment.

Earle Rugg co-founded the Rural Health IT Corporation and has worked in healthcare information technology for more than 20 years. He has worked on major health information exchange projects in Vermont and New Hampshire, North Dakota, and North Carolina. He frequently speaks at conferences around the country on HIT funding and sustainability strategies. Earle is a graduate of Boston University and Suffolk University Law School.

"Our mission at Rural Health has always been focused on being a catalyst for improving the quality of healthcare delivery to the poor and disadvantaged through the better use of health information technology. I look forward to working with the Board to further assist ACU efforts to do the same," Earle said. 

Oct. 5-9, Anna will speak on asthma management at the American College of Nurse Practitioners Clinical Conference in Denver.  

Oct 29 - Nov 2, Lois Wessel will present on Regulation of Smoking in Public Housing: Tools for Clinicians in Reduction of Asthma Triggers at the American Public Health Association annual meeting in Washington, DC.  

Nov. 10-12, Lois will lead a workshop on asthma care homes at the National Center for Farmworker Health conference in Albuquerque.

Emergency response

September is National Preparedness Month. Now, from Public Health - Seattle and King County, Washington, comes a valuable resource, a web-based toolkit you can use to ensure that no one group is disproportionately affected in an emergency. The authors say that "diverse groups of residents [may have] varied and sometimes complex everyday needs, which can quickly amplify during emergency or disaster events."  The online toolkit offers information and resources that will help you, your organization and the people you serve connect and communicate.