Featuring Dr. David Williams, Professor of Public Health at Harvard University School of Public Health and Staff Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America.

ALSO PARTICIPATING
- Dr. Stephanie Bailey - CDC Chief, Office of Public Health Practice
- Juan Canedo - Director of Progreso Community Center
- Helen Moore – Director of Non-discrimination Compliance and Health Care Disparities for the Bureau of TennCare, and an Edgehill community member
- Jacky Akbari – Chairperson of the Middle Tennessee Diversity Forum
- Dr. Eleanor Bright Fleming – Edgehill Dental Collaborations and Policy
- Dr. Alisa Haushalter – Director of the Bureau of Population Health Programs for Metro Public Health Department
- Yvonne Joosten – Executive Director of the Office of Community Engagement at Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health
- Winona Yellowhammer – Spokesperson for the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee
- Ann Hatcher – Vice President of Workforce Development Programs at Hospital Corporation of America (HCA)
- Belmont University faculty, staff and students

SCHEDULE
8:30am - Registration
8:45am - Welcome
9:00am - Framework for a Healthier Community - David Williams
9:30am - Dialogue I
11:00am - Dialogue II
12:15pm - Lunch break
1:30pm - Dialogue III with guest panelists
3:15pm - Closing Remarks - David Williams

TOPICS INCLUDE
How Our Neighborhood Affects Our Health
Partnering Together for a Healthier Community
A Community Perspective on Disparities Research
Beyond Health Care: Building a Healthier Community

Click here to get more information and RSVP.

Co-sponsored by:

Belmont University's Center for Community Health & Health Equity

Presentation Partners Include:
Nashville Health Disparity Coalition
Meharry Medical College
Metro Public Health Department

Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “It’s a distinct honor to welcome Fred Gray to Belmont’s campus, especially during the week when our nation celebrates the accomplishments of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement. At Belmont we encourage our students to use their gifts and talents to impact the world. There are few better examples of individuals who have accomplished that mission than Fred Gray.”

The event will begin with an 8:30 a.m. panel discussion featuring Gray along with the following special guests:
• Dr. Henry Foster, Jr., professor emeritus and former dean of the Meharry College School of Medicine and nominee for U.S. Surgeon General under President Bill Clinton
• Dwight Lewis, columnist and member of the editorial board for The Tennessean
• John Seigenthaler, founding editorial director of USA Today, founder of the First Amendment Center and award-winning journalist who briefly left his career in the 1960s to work in the civil rights field.

Following a 20-minute intermission at the conclusion of the panel forum, Gray will return for a keynote lecture at 10 a.m. His presentation will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

Politics in Play

Tommy Thompson, four-term Governor of Wisconsin and former Secretary of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, recently painted a scenario of political intrigue filled with back room bargaining and deal-making worthy of the latest political best seller. However, he wasn’t speaking of a fictional thriller but of the real life maneuvers that will be necessary to get a healthcare reform bill out of Congress.

Speaking at Belmont University a week before Thanksgiving, he predicted that Congress would pass a new, comprehensive healthcare bill, but not without some Congressional arm twisting, “and a lot of shootouts and deal cutting” before reaching a “cantankerous” compromise.

“The president wants the healthcare bill out. Nancy Pelosi wants it out. Harry Reid wants it out,” he explained, of the push to move quickly. Thompson added that, for Democrats, the specter of “what happened in 1994 with the Clintons’ attempt at healthcare reform hangs over their heads.”

The briefing, part of Belmont University’s continuing speaker series, Diagnosing Our Future, was held at the university’s Gordon E. Inman Center.

In a lively presentation at Belmont University Monday afternoon, Former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson discussed the potential future of health reform legislation currently before Congress.

Thompson said he expects a bill will be on President Obama’s desk before Christmas. That bill will include a public option, health insurance exchanges, taxes for people who make more than $200,000 per year, taxes on so-called “Cadillac” health plans, and employer credits for wellness and prevention programs.

Click here to read the full article.

In the companion lists to The 50 Best Jobs in America, Physical Therapist was ranked as the 8th best position for job growth with a 27% increase in opportunities expected during the next 10 years for 181,000 total jobs. Physical Therapist was ranked 2nd for low stress with 59.5% of those surveyed saying their job is low stress. Occupational Therapist was ranked 9th for low stress with 50% saying their job is low stress. 97.3% of those nurse practitioners surveyed said their job was secure ranking Nurse Practioner as the 4th best for job security. Physical Therapist also made the job security list at #8 with 96% saying their job is secure. Nurse Practitioner was #7 on the list for future job growth and #6 on the list for job satisfaction. Occupational Therapist came in at #10 for job satisfaction. And finally, Nurse Practioner was ranked as 9th best for those who think their job makes the world a better place.

See more at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2009/.

Look on the Speaker Series webpage for upcoming presentations in the speaker series with Fred Gray on January 20, 2010 and Dr. David Williams on March 25, 2010.

Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “In addition to providing a time to celebrate and thank all the workers behind this immense project, a topping out is also a time to look forward to when this structure is complete. This building will be a model, 21st century academic facility, providing a venue where our students and faculty resources can intersect in service to help meet the medical needs of our community and our world.”

The theme of the speaker series, “Diagnosing Our Future,” reflects the call to collaboratively advance new ideas to improve healthcare and healthy living for future generations. The purpose of the series is to connect these ideas with the greater community of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and with students in Belmont’s health science programs who are preparing to serve society as physical therapists, pharmacists, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, and social workers.