Southern Mississippi Area Health Education Center to Host Public Health Symposium

The Southern Mississippi Area Health Education Center (SMAHEC) at The University of Southern Mississippi will host this year's Public Health Symposium featuring experts in health policy, clinical care and the impact that socio-economic status has on people's health.

Rather than just focusing on Mississippi's problems, speakers at the event will address what comes next in prevention and solving those problems.

"This year, our symposium is featuring speakers who are filling a health void, rather than just outlining the health problems of Mississippi," said Gina Fiorentini-Wright, SMAHEC assistant director. "We have a lot of data and continue to gather more, regarding our state's poor health status. We feel that we must now bring some answers; some solutions to the health problems that are facing Mississippi."

The Public Health Symposium will be held Aug. 29th at the Thad Cochran Center. Dr. Charkarra Anderson-Lewis, associate professor in the Southern Miss Department of Community Health Sciences, will present "Health Equity: Right, or Privilege?"
 
"This will be an interactive experience where we will discuss health disparities in the United States with an emphasis on Mississippi," said Anderson-Lewis, who is the founder of My Mother's Heart foundation, an organization created to increase awareness of heart disease among women. "Participants will have a better understanding of the health disparities that exist concerning age, sex, geographical location, race and ethnicity."

Speakers scheduled for the symposium are:

• 10 a.m. -- Health Policy Development in Mississippi - Therese Hanna, executive director of the Mississippi Center for Health Policy

• 11:15 a.m. -- Mobile Medical Health Services: *An Emerging Clinical System Optimal for at-risk children and their families - Dr. Persharon Dixon, a pediatrician sponsored by Coastal Family Health

• 1:15 p.m. -- Osteopathic Medicine in Mississippi: New Partnerships - Dr. Michael Murphy and Dr. Darrell Lovins,  William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine

• 2:30 p.m. -- Health Equity: Right, or Privilege? - Dr. Charkarra Anderson-Lewis, associate professor in the Southern Miss Department of Community Health Sciences in the College of Health and founder of My Mother's Heart foundation

Registration for the SMAHEC Public Health Symposium begins at 9:30 a.m. For more information, contact Gina Fiorentini-Wright at 601.266.4839 or gina.fiorentini.wright@usm.edu This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or visit http://www.usm.edu/chs/smahec.

About Southern Mississippi Area Health Education Center
The Southern Mississippi Area Health Education Center at The University of Southern Mississippi is a part of the Department of Community Health Sciences in the College of Health. The center addresses health issues in the southern 15-county region of the state, including the elimination of health care inequality, increasing availability of health care and services to all medically underserved populations and recruiting high school students into the health care fields. It is funded by a three-year federal grant.