If you have not already done so, I encourage you to visit the H-H-S Office of Minority Health website to learn more about what we are doing in the Department to combat disparities in health delivery. The web address is www.omhrc.gov

Health Literacy
Health literacy - or should I say, illiteracy - can also have a tremendous impact on our minority communities.

Health literacy is the ability of an individual to access, understand, and use health-related information and services to make appropriate health decisions.

More than 90 million people cannot adequately understand basic health information.

And health illiteracy is not only impacting our minority communities, it is impacting those from all ages, races and education levels.

How can we expect people to beat - or even control - chronic illness if they can't understand basic health information?

Many of you are familiar with the H-H-S Health Literacy Workgroup.

That Workgroup is continuing its efforts to close the gap between what health professionals know and what patients understand.

The Workgroup's leadership consists of health professionals from numerous agencies and offices in the Department, including I-H-S's own Mary Wachacha, Lead Consultant of Health Education.

The Workgroup meets bi-monthly to discuss what is being done to improve the health literacy of its constituency, and what can be done to continue to improve health literacy.

It also helps to plan educational meetings, including the first-ever “Surgeon General's Workshop on Improving Health Literacy” that was held last year.

The Workgroup is also implementing recommendations from leaders in the field in the development of improved health literacy measurement tools.

We have a responsibility - as administrators, as clinicians, as public health professionals, and as H-H-S leaders - to ensure that the medical and health information that we provide is being heard... understood... embraced... and ultimately put into action.

This will save lives.

Emergency Preparedness
As I mentioned, another important component of our prevention efforts, and one of my Office's top priorities as assigned by our President, is emergency preparedness.

The terrorist events on 9/11, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the new threats of pandemic flu have firmly planted emergency preparedness on our nation's health agenda.

September 11 was a tragic event in the history of the United States and the world.

It was also a turning point for us in terms of homeland security.

Disaster takes many forms - a hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado, a flood, a fire, a pandemic flu, or a hazardous spill ... an act of nature or an act of terrorism.

A disaster builds over days or weeks, or hits suddenly, without warning.

And every year, millions of Americans face disaster, and its terrifying consequences.

We know that we cannot always prevent emergency situations, but we can be prepared so that they do not become large-scale disasters... and we can prevent some of the health consequences that arise from disasters.

Over the past few years, emergency preparedness has become a major part of our mission to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the nation.

Emergency Preparedness and the Commissioned Corps
As such, the transformation of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service into a more mobile and responsive National resource is of vital importance.

I am proud of the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the U- S Public Health Service and its members' tireless efforts in preparing our Nation for a national emergency.

We must build upon their efforts in the development of dedicated response teams to advance their capabilities in addressing the health needs of the H-H-S and the Nation.

This transition will come in two phases; the first was to roster and train Tier 1 and Tier 2 response teams with officers already on duty with the U-S Public Health Service.

Phase two requires the development of two Health and Medical Response teams.

These teams are expected to be the first respondents to disasters, public health diplomacy missions, National Special Security Events, and other requested missions.

The teams will be comprised of approximately 70 officers who are currently on duty, and 140 newly hired personnel who are not yet on active duty.

The staffing needs of the I-H-S will be carefully considered as we roster these teams.

Once independently operational, they will become the Public Health Service's primary response assets, augmented by the Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams.

The development of these teams, along with the planned 10% increase in the number of active duty officers, will reduce the number of response requests for Indian Health Service officers.

To maintain clinical competency, team members will be available intermittently for augmentation at I-H-S clinical sites when not deployed or training.

Medical Reserve Corps
Many of you may already know that in addition to serving as the Assistant Secretary's lead office for implementing policy related to the Corps, my office also oversees the Medical Reserve Corps.

The M-R-C was founded after President Bush's 2002 State of the Union Address, in which the President asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country.

The M-R-C is a national system of community-based teams of medical and public health volunteers.

They are a way to organize health professionals who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year.

In many ways, the M-R-C units across the country support the Commissioned Corps, strengthen the public health infrastructure, and improve emergency preparedness.

And make no mistake about it: Those who serve our tribal communities are an important part of this volunteer network.

I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have donated your time to an M-R-C unit.

You have provided tremendous support to my office... and to the communities you serve.

If you have not joined an M-R-C, please consider joining your colleagues in this honorable work.

Presently, there are two tribal M-R-C units in New Mexico and two in California.

The M-R-C continues to work with I-H-S Emergency Managers to develop strategies to encourage participation from those who serve tribal communities as well as tribal members themselves.

And I-H-S Emergency Managers will be presenting at the upcoming M-R-C annual conference in Providence, Rhode Island.

For more information about the Medical Reserve Corps, please visit www.medicalreservecorps.gov

Pandemic Flu Preparedness
Another important area that we continue to work on - even as the media buzz has died down - is pandemic flu preparedness.

To date, more than 265 people have contracted the disease.

Dozens of countries - across three continents - have seen H-5-N-1 claim poultry and wild birds.

The disease is highly pathogenic, and it continues to spread.

While we cannot be certain H-5-N-1 will be the spark of the next pandemic, we can be sure that pandemics happen.

They have happened in the past and they will happen in the future.

That is why we continue to take this threat so seriously.

Preparedness must involve planning by every level of government, every school, every business, every church, every civic organization, and every one of our professional public health associations.

Every family and every individual also need to have a plan.

To make sure people have the information they need to have an effective plan, Secretary Leavitt announced two new initiatives at the beginning of this month.

The Community Mitigation Guidance document helps communities understand appropriate steps to follow depending on the severity of the pandemic.

These steps may include the closing of schools, canceling of public meetings and the need to stay home for an extended period of time.

By anticipating the need for these activities, we can execute them more effectively.

These steps can help reduce the spread of disease until a vaccine is available.

And stopping the spread of disease means we will be saving lives.

The second initiative the Secretary announced was a public service announcement campaign.

This P-S-A campaign will provide useful tips and help people know what to do about pandemic flu.

You can learn more about the P-S-As at pandemicflu.gov.

The bottom line is that at H-H-S we understand the continuing threat of avian influenza - as well as other influenza strains that could evolve into a pandemic - and we continue to take steps necessary for effective preparedness and response.

Work must continue to ensure sustained actions that will minimize the morbidity, mortality, and social disruption that an influenza pandemic could cause.

Preparedness Activities
In addition, I am also here to ask for your assistance in planning for all-hazards events.

Preparedness is a process of learning, adapting, and growing.

We're facing new threats from terrible new weapons, and we must learn how to become better prepared as we go forward.

There have been difficulties along the way.

But we are dedicated to making the process better, to finding problems, and to fixing them.

We are better prepared today than we were in September 2001, and we will continue to get better.

The capacity to rapidly produce vaccine is increased, national stockpiles and distribution systems are in place, communication and disease monitoring systems are expanded, and local preparedness has been dramatically enhanced.

Closing and Charge
I want to close this morning by thanking you for your dedication.

Thank you for your continuing work, and for your commitment to improving the health of our tribal communities.

Today I want to ask for your continued leadership in preparing our Nation for a public health emergency and for helping our nation to prevent deadly diseases.

Looking around this room, I know that through your efforts, and our strong and growing partnerships within the National Combined Councils, we can ensure better health, safety, and security for all American Indians and Alaska Natives.

I look forward to working with you during this meeting and beyond.

Thank you.

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Last revised: January 8, 2007