America's Health Responders - U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE COMMISSIONED CORPS
Commissioned Corps E-Bulletin
Health Disparities Symposium
Submitted by CDR Soju Chang and LT Karen K. Ho
 
In honoring its 20th Anniversary, the Minority Officers Liaison Council (MOLC) held its first Symposium: Health Disparities. MOLC was established in 1990 and is comprised of four chartered minority officer advisory committees to the Office of the Surgeon General:
  • American Indian/Alaskan Native Commissioned Officers Advisory Committee (AI/AN COAC)
  • Asian Pacific American Officers Committee (APAOC)
  • Black Commissioned Officers Advisory Group (BCOAG)
  • Hispanic Officers Advisory Committee (HOAC)
The event hosted honored guests and was well attended by Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) officers, federal, tribal, state, and county government representatives, and community members passionate about eliminating health disparities and promoting health equity.

CAPT Nancy Bill, Mistress of Ceremonies, RADM Helena O. Mishoe, MOLC Senior Advisor, and Yvette Roubideaux, MD, MPH, Director of Indian Health Service (IHS), provided the welcome and opening remarks on the importance to eliminate health disparities among minorities throughout the country. VADM Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General, in delivering the Keynote Address, shared her history of public health service and addressing social determinants of health. Her list of priorities include obesity, breastfeeding, adolescent health, HIV AIDS among girls, mental health, violence among youth, medication adherence, end of life, and overall wellness and fitness, She admitted her interests are broad because she is a family physician. Her final prescription to the audience was to “take time for yourself.”

RADM Christopher Halliday, Chief of Staff, provided Corps related remarks and expressed his participation in future MOLC events. National experts from multiple organizations presented current initiatives that address disparity, findings published in literature on disparity, and described gaps and need for additional work.

Following a luncheon musical performance by Mr. Evans Craig, a panel discussion convened to provide detailed information on initiatives to eliminate health disparities at the federal, tribal, state, local, and community levels highlighting how each addresses health disparities and equity. Several panelists spoke of integration across agencies and sectors, and of strategies based on collaboration to achieve success in eliminating health disparities.

CDR Soju Chang, 2010 MOLC Chair, closed acknowledging the host, sponsors, and planners for supporting the symposium that provided a unique opportunity to network with colleagues across governments and the private sectors. The symposium attendees deemed the information to be useful for daily work involving health disparities.

The speakers’ biography and presentations are available at http://staging.usphs.cit.nih.gov/corpslinks/molc.



First row, left to right: His Excellency Izben Williams, Ambassador to St. Nevis and St. Kitts, U.S. Virgin Islands; Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, Director of Indian Health Service, VADM Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General; RADM Helena Mishoe, MOLC Senior Advisor; CDR Soju Chang, 2010 MOLC Chair.




RADM Helena Mishoe with MOLC Chairs from 2007 to 2010 cutting the cake. Left to right: CDR Soju Chang, 2010, APAOC; CAPT Laura Aponte, 2009, HOAC; RADM Mishoe, MOLC Senior Advisor; CAPT Nancy Bill, 2007, AI/ANCOAC; CDR Sheila Merriweather, 2008, BCOAG; and LT Reginald Smith, Coordinator, BCOAG.
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