Left to right: Meagan Longley, Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., Dr. Nadine Gracia, Rick Ybarra, Dr. Teresa Chapa
On February 7, 2012, the Hogg Foundation and the Office of Minority Health hosted a one-day conference focused on eliminating health disparities through integrated health care. We were fortunate to be joined by Dr. Nadine Gracia, acting deputy assistant secretary for minority health and the acting director of the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her welcoming remarks reminded us that learning at a conference is not enough—the real power of attendance is in taking our knowledge and voices into our communities.
Over 350 people registered for the conference, representing health care consumers, youth and their family members, policy makers, advocates, behavioral and physical health care professionals, administrators and state agency leaders.
Participants were treated to information-packed presentations throughout the day by national experts and were able to walk away with concrete recommendations about how to deliver integrated health care services in communities of color. Additionally, the luncheon keynote address from Daniel Dawes walked participants through health equity provisions in the Affordable Care Act.
Many thanks to all of our incredible speakers: Teresa Chapa, Teddy Chen, Daniel Dawes, Tamarah Duperval-Brownlee, Venus Ginés, Theopia Jackson, Pierluigi Mancini, Tassy Parker and Katherine Sanchez.
Participants had great things to say about the conference:
“I enjoyed the overview of the ACA by Daniel Dawes. I also enjoyed the opportunities for networking and collaboration that were available due to the high turnout.”
“This was well worth my time away from the office. I truly appreciated the comments on cultural competence, the social justice framework that carried through the presentations, and the practical ways in which the presenters demonstrated how they (their organizations) implemented integrated care and showed how this approach was paving the way for improved health outcomes.”
“I appreciated the diversity of the presenters and their subject matter expertise. Excellent conference!!”
Panel discussion: “The Integrated Health Care Team”
“I felt the DIVERSITY of the speakers, and what they brought to the meeting was outstanding. They were all very specific about cultural differences in the mental health milieu.”
“[I liked] the opportunity to learn about models of integrated health care that are in operation and the opportunities for networking. I also appreciated tremendously that this conference was provided free of cost!!!”
“[I liked] hearing about the efforts across the U.S. being made to address racial & ethnic disparities in integrated health care through direct practice; hearing the value of every discipline in integrated health care.”
Learn more about the conference, speakers and presentations here.