2nd Annual National Conference on Health Disparities Set for Virgin Islands
CBCF Co-sponsoring Event to be Held at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Croix

WASHINGTON – The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) is co-sponsoring the second annual National Conference on Health Disparities, set for December 4-7, 2008, at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Croix, Virgin Islands.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Improving Our Health, Enhancing Our Lives.”The conference comes at a time when America is poised for change and amid a growing consensus and determination for reform of the nation’s broken health care system.

Participants in the National Conference on Health Disparities, held in 2007 in Charleston, S.C., grappled with a number of fundamental health disparity issues: Where have we made progress? Where have lagged behind? What should be our way forward?

For the second annual conference, this conversation continues with a new urgency and hope. The conference will begin with an overview of health disparity issues and conclude with recommendations for and by community advocates, business and political leaders and public policymakers of the best and most effective tools – both current and envisioned – to eliminate health disparities for our nation.

Speakers and panelists will provide historical context for the causes of health disparities in America and then highlight initiatives that are making a difference. The conference is co-sponsored by CBCF, University of the Virgin Islands Caribbean Exploratory Research Center and the Medical University of South Carolina.

CBCF’s director of research and programs, Marjorie A. Innocent, Ph.D., will serve as a panelist on a session titled “Faces of Health Disparities in the U.S.” and moderated by Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen of the Virgin Islands.

Congresswoman Christensen is chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust. Ivory A. Toldson, Ph.D., CBCF’s senior research analyst and an assistant professor at Howard University’s School of Education, will also make a presentation.

It will focus on Dr. Toldson’s recently released report, “Breaking Barriers: Plotting the Path to Academic Success for School-age African-American Males.”

For more information about the conference and to register, visit http://cell.uvi.edu/healthconference.html.

For more information about the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s public health initiatives, visit http://www.cbcfinc.org.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc. (CBCF) was established in 1976 as a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy, research and educational institute intended to broaden and elevate the influence of African Americans in the political, legislative and public policy arenas.