September 19, 2008
SGA President to Address Collegiate Healthcare Conference
Klay Kelley, Belmont University's student body president, will address approximately 100 student government leaders, representing more than one million students from 50 universities nationwide, when they meet in Nashville Oct. 5-7 to discuss healthcare issues.
The student leaders are meeting under the banner of SHOUTAmerica, a new non-profit group created to engage young Americans in the debate over healthcare. The group will convene at the Scarritt-Bennett Center, just blocks from the Oct. 7 presidential debate in Belmont's Curb Event Center.
“This year it will cost $2.4 trillion to fund our healthcare system, which is the world’s most expensive, yet this same system ranks 37th in terms of quality,” said Landon Gibbs, 26, executive director and co-founder of SHOUTAmerica. “It’s clear we need changes that address the rising cost of healthcare – and we believe young people have to lead that discussion, because it is our future that is at risk.”
Conference participants come from 50 different universities, including Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Vanderbilt, Texas and Missouri. At the event, they will meet with U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of Clinical Bioethics at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health, former member of President Clinton’s Health Care Task Force and author of Healthcare, Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America.
They will also have a special viewing of the original Declaration of Independence before signing their own Declaration of Commitment to healthcare reform. The group will post the declaration on its website at www.shoutamerica.com in order to meet its goal of securing one million signatures.
“The country can’t ignore a million young voices,” said Gibbs.
SHOUTAmerica was funded with a donation from Clayton McWhorter, chairman of Clayton Associates, former Chairman and CEO of HealthTrust, Inc., former COO of Hospital Corp. of America and a veteran healthcare executive associated with more than 35 healthcare companies throughout his career. “I’ve had a wonderful career in healthcare, so it’s right for me to give back at this stage,” he said. “I’m excited about the energy and fresh ideas these young people bring to the challenge. I am personally committed to helping them find the resources so their voices can be heard.”
Gibbs noted, “With Clayton’s vision and experience, he has the ability to infect us with a passion to explore the issues and problems surrounding healthcare in our country.”
SHOUTAmerica is a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to engaging a new generation of Americans in the debate over the future of healthcare. In an interactive campaign centered on awareness, education and promoting dialogue, SHOUTAmerica will enable the voices of young people to be heard in the search for sustainable solutions to the healthcare crisis.
- For more stories from the Debate08 Archive, click here.
- Office University Marketing and Communications
Greg Pillon: 615.460.6645
Belmont University
1900 Belmont Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37212
615.460.6000
About Belmont University
Named one of the top two “Schools to Watch” in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Belmont University is a fast-growing community of more than 5,400 students who come from every state and 25 countries. Committed to being a leader among teaching universities, Belmont brings together the best of liberal arts and professional education in a Christian community of learning and service. The university’s purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs. With more than 75 areas of study, 20 master’s programs and three doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual's horizon. For more information, visit www.belmont.edu.
For more information visit www.belmont.edu
