Drexel-Health Partners of Philadelphia Seminar Series on Innovations to Reduce Disparities in Health Care -- 2005-2006 Academic Year
Sponsored by Health Partners of Philadelphia, the objective of this seminar series is to offer the opportunity for Drexel University faculty and students, and the broader professional public health and provider community in the city to hear from and engage national leaders on the dimensions of disparities and ways to improve quality health care for racially and ethnically diverse residents in the Philadelphia area. Specifically, the series will:
• Create a forum for discussing why disparities occur, why they are important, how they are manifest in health care settings in Philadelphia and elsewhere, and the consequences for individuals, practitioners and health care organizations;
• Expose participants to documented, emerging and new programs to address access and quality challenges in caring for diverse residents;
• Engage the audience in discussions around concrete actions that can be taken by individual practitioners and health care organizations to address language barriers and improve cultural competence;
• Learn about innovative service, education and research strategies being supported by the government and the private sector that may offer opportunities for Philadelphia.
Six seminars were scheduled during the 2005-2006 academic year. Speakers included:
10/7/05: Sarah Jones, "A Right to Care," (see below).
11/30/05: Garth N. Graham, MD, MPH, "The Current State of Disparities Reduction Initiatives at the Federal Government Level." Dr. Graham is Director of the Office of Minority Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services. The lecture was presented at 4:30 pm, Geary Room B, New College Building. Click here to download Dr. Graham's presentation (220 KB PDF).
01/19/06: Innovations to Reduce Disparities in Health Care Panel: "Clinical, Health Plan and Community Innovation and Intervention to Understand and Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care." Panelists included: Dennis Andrulis, Ph.D., Director of Center for Health Equality; Merleen Harris-Williams, MD, Medical Director, Health Partners of Philadelphia; John Rich, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair of Dept. of Health Policy and Management, Drexel School of Public Health; Michael Schaffer, PharmD, MBA, Director, Health Outcomes, Health Partners of Philadelphia. The panel convened on Thursday, January 19, 2006, 4:30 pm, Geary Room B, New College Building. Click here for event flyer (61 KB PDF).
Click here for Dr. Andrulis' presentation (135 KB PDF)
Click here for Dr. Harris-Williams' presentation (520 KB PDF)
Click here for Michael Schaffer's presentation (64 KB PDF)
Click here for Dr. John Rich's presentation (2.75 KB PDF)
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"A Right To Care" performed by Sarah Jones, Obie Award-Winning Playwright, Actor and Poet, Friday, October 7, 2005, 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm, Mandell Theatre, Chestnut Street at 33rd Street, Sponsored by Health Partners of Philadelphia.
Written and performed by Sarah Jones, and commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, A Right To Care explores the ways in which ethnic, racial, and economic health disparities impact people's daily lives. Through Jones' critically acclaimed style of character portrayal, she utilizes the voices of modern America, both female and male, Native American, Black, Latino, Asian and White, to illuminate key public health topics. For more about A Right to Care, click here to download a color brochure (2 MB PDF)
To learn more about Sarah Jones, please visit her website.
This first of its kind performance presented by the Center for Health Equality has now set the foundation for future discussions, education and learning around the topic of racial and ethnic health disparities. We've received enthusiastic feedback on the performance from many of the more than 200 attendees, who included students, faculty and community members.