Some of the nation's leading health care officials will participate in the National Medical Association's Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly Aug. 3-8 at the Hawaii Convention Center. Health care leaders
headed to HawaiiBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comThey include:
>> Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. surgeon general and assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
>> Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the National Cancer Institute.
>> Dr. Warren Jones, president of the Academy of Family Practice.
>> Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, former dean and president of the Moorehouse School of Medicine.
>> Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. surgeon general.
>> Dr. Harold Freeman, chairman of the President's Cancer Panel.
Also participating will be actor Danny Glover, national spokesman for Anemia Lifeline Program, U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Jesse L. Jackson Jr., D-Illinois, and Dr. Ian Smith, NBC News health correspondent.
The National Medical Association, representing more than 25,000 black American physicians and their patients, addresses health issues of black Americans and underserved populations.
The organization was formed in 1895 when most black Americans were disenfranchised and the health care system was segregated. It has fought to eliminate health disparities and promote better medical care for all people.
Guest lecturers, medical experts and scientists attending the Honolulu convention will discuss how diseases affecting black Americans and other communities of color are managed in today's medical practices.