National Hispanic Medical Association National Conference to Focus on Health and Wellness Strategies for Local Hispanic Communities
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The National Hispanic Medical Association, the nation’s leading organization working with Hispanic physicians to improve the health of America’s Hispanic and other underserved populations, will hold its 19th Annual Conference March 26-29, 2015, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, N.W., Washington, D.C.
More than 600 physicians, other health professionals, and government and private sector advocates will gather for the conference that will focus on “Effective Strategies to Improve the Health of Hispanics in our Local Communities.”
Leading authorities will come from across the country to discuss Healthy Nutrition and Lifestyle programs for Hispanics to advance the NHMA Communications Campaign with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to inform policymakers and physicians to discuss how families can decrease childhood obesity.
“This year the NHMA is bringing hundreds of physicians and medical students to meet Congress,” states the President and CEO, Dr. Elena Rios, “to advocate for a 2 year continuation for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) with Medicare new payment method for doctors based on performance, to reduce Medicare Advantage cuts to seniors and SNAP programs for families, and to increase Hispanic premed students in community colleges.”
On Friday, March 27, at the Opening Plenary at 1:00 pm, leaders from the US Department of Health and Human Services, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Hogg Foundation, and Grantmakers in Health will share their successful programs about prevention of disease and coordinating patient centered medical homes for the growing Hispanic population in the United States. On Saturday, at the Luncheon, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD will address the audience on partnership building, and the Coca-Cola Company will address the need for low calorie/low sugar and better nutrition for Hispanic families. That evening, at the Awards Gala, Dr. Sandra Hernandez, President, California HealthCare Foundation will address the need for Hispanic leadership in health and mental health.
The NHMA sessions will discuss Increasing Hispanics in the STEM and Medicine Workforce and in Clinical Trials, New Technology to Monitor and Educate Hispanics in the Home, HIV-AIDS and Hepatitis C epidemics, Obesity Reduction, Aging Patients management, veterans’ health, behavioral health, as well as other topics.
NHMA will also be recognizing leadership efforts to improve Hispanic health – Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, Administrator of National Science Foundation France Cordova, George Paz, CEO, Express Scripts, Dr. Francisco Fernandez, Dr. Luis Aguilar, and presidents of Hispanic medical societies and health professional associations in the US.
The meeting is being supported by Centene, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, California HealthCare Foundation, Alta Med, Eli Lilly, Anthem Blue Cross, Dignity Health, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Earthjustice, Maximus, Pfizer, NY Life, United Healthcare- Latino Solutions, American Heart Association, AT&T, Goya, Johnson & Johnson, The California Endowment, Novo Nordisk, Abbot, Abbvie, Takeda, PhRMA, The California Wellness Foundation, United Healthcare, WK Kellogg Foundation, Coca-Cola and others.
For more information about the NHMA Annual Conference, visit www.NHMAmd.org and see #NHMA2015.
Established in 1994 in Washington, D.C., the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) association representing the interests of 50,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States. NHMA is dedicated to empowering Hispanic physicians to be leaders to improve the health of Hispanics and all Americans.
