SRPH dean on national panel addressing health disparities at conference

(COLLEGE STATION, TX) – Ciro Sumaya, M.D., M.P.H.T.M., founding dean of the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, is among several invited speakers at a news conference Friday, April 18 to discuss the findings of three “Health Disparities and Hispanic Leadership Summits” by the Office of Minority Health and the National Hispanic Medical Association.

The upcoming presentation in Washington, D.C. is part of the 12th annual conference of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) – “Health Care Reform & Health Disparities: A Priority for Hispanic Communities” – to share health care issues and innovations affecting Latinos.

Dr. Sumaya was appointed the newest chairman of the Board of Directors of the NHMA in February. Founded in 1994 and representing 36,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States, it is frequently asked to provide testimony to Congress and other national organizations.

Over a six-month period, the NHMA and Office of Minority Health conducted health summits in Austin, New York and Sacramento to discuss barriers to better health for Hispanics, devise strategies for the future and build consensus on federal policies for the next five years to improve Hispanic health.

Other invited speakers with Dr. Sumaya are Dr. Garth N. Graham, deputy assistant secretary for minority health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Josefina Carbonell, HHS assistant secretary for aging; Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality at the HHS; Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.).