Upcoming Events
On March 27, 2007 from 8:30-11 AM, U.S. Congresswoman Donna Christensen will keynote a screening of the film Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, with a moderated discussion to follow. The event, named “Beyond Health Disparities: Arc to Justice,” will be held at the Marvin Center, Room 405, 800 21st St. NW, Washington, DC. To register, visit: http://www.gwumc.edu/sphhs/events/arcToJustice.cfm. ContactKatelyn Fleming at (202) 416-0063 or hsmkef@gwumc.edu for details.
On March 29, 2007 from 11:30 AM-2 PM, SHIRE will host the fourth meeting of the Early Childhood Obesity Collaborative at THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave, SE, Washington, DC 20020. Contact Canary Girardeau at cgirardeau@shireinc.org for details.
On April 7, 2007, SHIRE will coordinate with public television and radio station WETA, Sesame Street Workshop and Kaiser Permanente to host a workshop on Healthy Habits for Life for childcare providers in Washington, DC. The workshop in English will be on April 7, 2007; the workshop in Spanish will be on April 11, 2007. Contact Canary Girardeau at cgirardeau@shireinc.org for details.
On April 19 and 20, SHIRE will participate in the upcoming Congressional Black Caucus Spring Braintrust, “The Health and Wellness of the African-American Male: America’s Challenge; Our Imperative.” A welcome reception on April 19 will be from 6 to 8 PM. The Braintrust on April 20 will commence at 8 AM and end at 5 PM in the Cannon Caucus Room. Contact Britt Weinstock at britt.weinstock@mail.house.gov for details.
May 14-18 is HIMSS' National Health IT Week, and this year
SHIRE is a national partner. On
Friday, May 18, SHIRE is co-sponsoring with HIMSS a Congressional Education Session on
the topic: "Health IT: No Community Left Behind." The session will be in Room SD-628 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. Speakers include Congressman Ed Towns (invited), Claudia Schlosberg, Blank Rome, and Dr. Garth Graham, Office of Minority Health, DHHS. Contact Rochelle Carpenter at rcarpenter@
shireinc.org if you plan to attend. Lunch will be provided.
Other HIMSS events are:
Tuesday, May 15 – Please register and attend Advocacy Day at the
Washington Court Hotel, which starts at 8:00 a.m. The National Health IT Week Reception and Awards Ceremony at the Capitol Hill Club, 300 First Street, S.E. starting at 5 p.m. Contact Blair Hedgepeth about Advocacy Day (
bhedgepeth@himss.org) and Mari Franks about the reception (
mfranks@himss.org)
Wednesday, May 16 – Attend a Capitol Hill HIT Solutions Showcase from 3-5 p.m. in Room G-50, Dirksen Senate Office Building. Contact Jonathan French at
jfrench@himss.org
Past Events
On March 22, 2007, Blank Rome, Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and SHIRE sponsored a congressional briefing, “HIT and Health Disparities: Connecting the Dots,” in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2218, Washington, DC, to raise awareness about the HIT/health disparities connection for Congressional Members, health staff and broader community representatives. Moderated by SHIRE Board member, Claudia Schlosberg from Blank Rome, the briefing was conducted in collaboration with the Office of Congressman Edolphus Towns and Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen. Special guest Scharmaine Lawson, APRN, FNP testified on the importance of HIT as made apparent in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. See Publications section for SHIRE reports distributed at the briefing.
During the last week in February, SHIRE was represented at the national HIMSS conference in New Orleans, LA . Contact Ruth Perot @ rperot@shireinc.org for details.
On February 19 and 20, SHIRE participated in an invitational African American Health Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, which was sponsored by PhRMA. Contact Dr. Russell Davis at rjdavis@shireinc.org for details.
On February 2, SHIRE held the third meeting of the Early Childhood Obesity Collaborative, during which ideas on policies and programs to reduce and prevent obesity among children ages 0-5 were enumerated. Previous Collaborative meetings were held on December 5, 2006 and October 11, 2006. Contact Canary Girardeau at cgirardeau@shireinc.org for details.
On December 11, 2006, SHIRE helped coordinate a Regional Primary Care Coalition knowledge-sharing event on pharmaceutical access for the low-income/uninsured population in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Contact Rochelle Carpenter at rcarpenter@shireinc.org for details.
On September 27, 2006, Perot served as a panelist in the annual meeting of the Consumer Health Foundation in Washington, D.C., in which the issue of structural racism was addressed. Contact Ruth Perot at rperot@shireinc.org for details.
On July 28, 2006, Dr. Davis testified before the Consumer Empowerment Workgroup, which is associated with the American Health Information Community, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, to advocate for the full participation of consumers from underserved minority communities, in HIT planning, decision-making and implementation. Contact Russell Davis at rjdavis@shireinc.org for details.
On June 6, 2006, SHIRE participated in a panel discussion, "Leave No Community Behind: Ensuring HIT Access in Underserved Communities." SHIRE's presentation was offered as part of the agenda for the Annual HIMSS Advocacy Days. Contact Ruth Perot at rperot@shireinc.org for details.
SHIRE Board member, Khalil Abdullah, presented on the mental health needs and resources available to immigrants and refugees from Africa and the Caribbean, at an international symposium sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association, May 20-25, 2006 in Toronto, Canada. Contact Ryan Powell at rpowell@shireinc.org for details.
