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Community forum results in consensus, plans for new services
Based on recommendations from two stakeholder summit meetings, and focused on the opportunities of health reform, over 100 community health officials affirmed the need for a concerted effort to solicit federal funding for health center expansion and to focus on several areas of improvement at a public forum sponsored by the Health Authority on May 11.
Special presentations included:
· Jesse Thomas, President of Molina Healthcare of Michigan, who summarized the two stakeholder summit meetings which set the agenda for the public meeting;
· U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, speaking via videotaped message, pledged to support efforts by safety net organizations to secure federal funding for expansion plans;
· Herbert Smitherman, Jr., M.D., President of Health Centers Detroit Foundation, provided a comprehensive overview of challenges and opportunities facing Federally Qualified Health Centers;
· William Hart, Jr., Administrator, Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Health Policy and Access to Care, provided a status report on state health affairs.
· Dick Bohrer, retired Director of the U.S. Bureau of Primary Care and consultant to the Health Authority for primary care initiatives, helped analyze the day's proceedings.
Participants joined work groups to explore strengths, gaps, and opportunities for several areas of community health: mental and behavioral health, barriers and health information and technology, women's health, school-based initiatives, aging, and community health. For a summary of the proceedings, contact Andrew Pritchard at 313-871-3751. |
2010 Walk focuses on 'Healthy Communities'
The Health Authority is about strengthening the safety net and ensuring access to quality health care for all. In the end, though, it's about creating a healthy community. That's the focus of this year's Walk for Healthy Communities. With health reform eventually ensuring access to health insurance for a majority of Americans - realizing that many will remain uninsured - it's in everyone's best interest that we do what we can to promote our personal and collective health, starting with a vigorous walk at the Belle Isle Casino on Aug. 7.
Walk for Healthy Communities will include exhibits on several health topics, from services for young people through services for older people, and everyone in between. There will be a child play area, including an obstacle course, and dance aerobics for adults: Jumba, Depkee, and the Hustle. Eastern Market Corporation will provide a cooking demonstration involving low cost, highly nutritious foods. "Best of the Safety Net" awards will be presented to professionals and volunteers providing an outstanding contribution to the safety net, a tradition at the Health Authority's annual community event.
The Walk is free, but donations will be accepted to support the "Access for all...Health Care Fund," which underwrites the cost of primary care for the uninsured. For information contact Erin Barthel at 313-871-3751 or email, ebarthel@dwcha.org.
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Interfaith Prayer Luncheon discusses 'Moral Vision' for Health Care Reform
As the new health care reform law is implemented, interfaith health advocates remain concerned about the need to achieve a moral vision for its implementation, not just a legislative compromise. To that end, the Interfaith Health & Hope Coalition will host a prayer luncheon for faith leaders and health ministers called "Achieving a Moral Vision for Health Care" on Thursday, June 10, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Farms. The program is free, but reservations in advance are required. Call 866-501-3627 to register.
Featured speakers include Rev. Linda Hanna Walling, founder and executive director of Faithful Reform in Health Care, based in Cleveland, Ohio, and Bishop Edgar L. Vann, II, pastor of Second Ebenezer Church, Detroit, as well educator, author, and musician.
Rev. Walling's work focuses on education, resource development, networking, and messaging around shared faith values in order to build an active base of advocates who wish to include working for health care justice. She is the editor and co-author of Seeking Justice in Health Care: A Guide for Advocates in Faith Communities, among other works.
Bishop Vann is a well-known religious leader in the Detroit area who has served as an advisor to federal, state, and local elected officials, as well as business leaders. He has written, Why Look Down and Die, When You Can Look Up and Live? He is also a featured columnist on Faith and Policy for the Detroit News. He is founder and president of Vanguard Community Development Corporation.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority and St. John Providence Health System.
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Health Authority co-hosts racial health disparities film, workshop
Producer/ Director Crystal Emery's film, The Deadliest Disease in America will be screened on Saturday, June 19, 2010, 2 p.m. at the Plymouth United Church of Christ on 600 East Warren Avenue Detroit, MI 48201. The screening is co-hosted by Plymouth United Church of Christ and the Health Authority. Welcoming remarks will be provided by Congressman John Conyers Jr. - 14th District. This civic engagement event is making Detroit one of its stops during a 20-city nationwide tour. The 55-minute film will be followed by participatory workshops: "What Racism Looks Like in Health Care Delivery and Why You Should Report It" and "What the Church Can Do". Health care providers, patients, policy makers, health care advocates and community members interested in developing a strategy for change in the American healthcare system will recognize the capacity within these interactive forums to empower and engage all community members.
"As health reform extends access to health insurance coverage for millions of Americans, we also need to focus on the social determinants of health, which remain critical barriers for many in our society," explained Chris Allen, Executive Director and CEO of the Health Authority. "The Detroit Wayne County Health Authority is committed to eliminating disparities in health care and promoting health equity for all people."
The documentary follows four individuals, including the filmmaker, whose personal stories add to the national debate on our country's healthcare crisis. Emery shares her own experience as an African-American encountering racism while navigating the healthcare system. Emery, whose arms and legs are paralyzed as a result of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a form of Muscular Dystrophy, hopes that sharing these stories will stimulate conversations that move individuals to action.
The film also focuses on three organizations, from New England to Texas, whose innovative strategies help mitigate the crisis. "The ultimate goal of this film is to illuminate disparate treatment based on racial, economic and ethnic differences in order to help achieve a healthcare system that serves all Americans equally," explains Crystal Emery. Filmmaker Bill Duke asserts, "...a daring and insightful film . . . challenges all of us to demand equal treatment of everyone in the American healthcare system."
The Deadliest Disease in America is a powerful vehicle for educating and galvanizing stakeholders across the nation. "[This] film synthesizes centuries worth of discrimination that you can't argue with," contends Yance Ford, Series Producer for PBS's POV/American Documentary.
The Deadliest Disease in America is produced by URU, The Right to Be, Inc., a nonprofit, community-based organization that focuses its work on the critical need to reduce disparities and achieve greater health equity in the United States.
The afternoon will end with refreshments and a question and answer session. For more information about The Deadliest Disease in America and to view a trailer of the film, please visit URU's website at www.urutherighttobe.org. The screening is free, but reservations are required. To RSVP for the event, please go to www.ururtherighttobe.org/register or call 313-871-3751
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Getting to know the health reform law better...
With nearly half of Americans still confused about the new health reform law, Molina Healthcare of Michigan, the Health Authority, and several other partners co-sponsored the second in a series of community-based health reform forums at Inkster High School on May 22. Nearly 200 people attended the program, which featured six health care experts, including Chris Allen , Executive Director and CEO of the Health Authority. The forum was moderated by Andrea Isom, Fox2 news reporter and anchor.
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MichUHCAN honors 'Health Care Heroes' at annual dinner
Ricardo Guzman, CEO of Community Health and Social Services Center, Inc., Janet Olszewski, Director of the Michigan Department of Community Health, U.S. Congressman John Dingell, and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow will be honored at the MichUHCAN annual meeting on Friday, June 11, 2010 at Hope United Methodist Church, 26275 Northwestern Highway, Southfield. Dr. Anthony Iton, Sr. Vice President, Healthy Communities, The California Endowment, will be guest speaker. Tickets for the event are available for $35 by ordering via the website, wwwmichuhcan.org, by email mjmitchell@ameritech.net, or pay at the door.
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Backgrounder
Kaiser study finds public still unclear on health reform
Confusion over the new health reform law has declined since its implementation in March, but is still significant. In a poll released by the Kaiser Family Foundation in May, 44 percent of the public says they are confused about the law, compared to 55 percent in April. However, more than a third of Americans - 35 percent, say they don't understand what the impact of the law will be on themselves and their families. Americans remain divided on health reform, with 41 percent holding favorable views of the law, 44 percent unfavorable, and 14 percent undecided or unsure. Those with favorable views of health reform tend to cite the law's potential for increasing Americas' access to health insurance and health care and making both more affordable. Those with unfavorable views were concerned about the cost of reform to the country and to individuals and opposed the government's perceived role in the system. For the full study, go to www.kff.org.
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Analysis projects steep drop in uninsured with federal coverage
The impact of health reform on significantly reducing the uninsured through Medicaid coverage is real, notes a recently-release study through the Kaiser Family Foundation. The expansion of Medicaid under the new law will "markedly reduce the uninsured in states across the country, with the federal government picking up the overwhelming majority of the cost. ... Health reform will offer Medicaid coverage to millions of low-income adults for the first time and help establish a national floor for Medicaid eligibility that contrasts sharply with the wide variation in eligibility across state Medicaid programs today," according to the foundation. For the full study, go to www.kff.org |
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