Caribbean Health Summit to be Held Friday, June 18 at SUNY Downstate:
Jun 7, 2010
Theme is Health Disparities in the Caribbean Community
A Caribbean Health Summit for healthcare providers will be held Friday, June 18, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, 395 Lenox Road, Brooklyn, New York 11203. Planned as an annual event, the health summit is sponsored by SUNY Downstate, in collaboration with APC Community Services and other organizations. The theme is “Health Disparities in the Caribbean Community.”
This summit for healthcare professionals will provide valuable information on health disparities faced by Caribbean-American people and how to engage the community in promoting best healthcare practices.
Representative Donna Christensen, MD, (D-VI) will deliver the keynote address. Other speakers include Monica Sweeney, MD, MPH, assistant commissioner for HIV/AIDS prevention and control in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; David A. Cort, PhD, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, an expert in immigration; Larry Griffith, MD, associate program director in the Department of Surgery at The Brooklyn Hospital Center; Joseph Merlino, MD, deputy executive director of behavioral health at Kings County Hospital Center and visiting professor at SUNY Downstate; and Herold Simon, MD, medical director of the East New York Diagnostic and Treatment Center.
Also speaking will be Jean Tropnas, MD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Downstate; Leon Wilson, PhD, professor and chair of sociology at East Carolina University and an authority on family and social psychology; and Tanya Zangaglia, MD, medical director of Project Street Beat.
This conference was organized in response to the challenging health outcomes in Brooklyn.
Chronic diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease) and infectious diseases
(such as HIV and STDs) all disproportionately affect the populations of central Brooklyn,
where many immigrant populations from the Caribbean reside.
All medical providers who treat patients from the Caribbean-American community are
invited to participate in the summit. The conference is free to healthcare providers
and Continuing Medical Education credits are available. Contact Janice Emanuel-Bunn
at 347-715-3956 for more information or to register.
Co-sponsors also include Haitian Centers Council, National Haitian American Health
Alliance, Claire Heureuse Community Center, Kings County Hospital Center, Caribbean
American Nurses Association, Brooklyn HIV Care Network, Docs Tee Time, New York City
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Office of Minority Health, New York State
Department of Health Office of Minority Health, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban
Health, and the Office of State Senator Eric Adams (D-NY 20th Dist.).
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.