 |
 |
|
 |
||
|
|
Remarks as prepared; not a transcript. RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H Thank you, Pastor Hartsfield {National Baptist Convention Vice President At-Large-Rev. Wallace S. Hartsfield Sr.} for that gracious introduction. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is an honor to be here and to deliver this keynote address. I am pleased to represent H-H-S Secretary Michael Leavitt. He and I extend our greetings and best wishes. I would like to first take a moment to recognize the Convention President, Rev. Steve Thurston; members of the National Baptist Convention Cabinet; and Capt. Clara H. Cobb, of the U-S Public Health Service and the Regional Health Administrator in Region Four. I thank the National Baptist Convention for extending this invitation to Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. John Agwunobi; while H-H-S lost a stalwart advocate for better public health with Dr. Agwunobi's recent departure, his passion for a healthier America is something our entire Department shares. I will describe for you today some of the motivations which underlie that passion. My broad responsibilities as Acting Surgeon General involve serving as our nation's chief "health educator; my office provides accurate and emerging information on a myriad of topics related to the health and fitness of Americans. I particularly enjoy events like this one. It is an opportunity to discuss the concept of wellness, the value of disease prevention, and the many benefits of improving public health. I want to share what you can do, as individuals, what your congregations can do, as supportive faith communities, and what we - the National Baptist Convention, the broader faith community and the Federal government, as partners - can do together. Our common goal, of course, is to improve the health of our families, friends, loved ones and our community. H-H-S is in a focused business, one which is both short-term and farsighted in nature: we strive to create physically fit American communities. Vital to our effort is effectively sharing specialized knowledge - information about the benefits of making appropriate choices. I'm talking about the decisions we make as they pertain to food, nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle; about the emergence and importance of preventive care; and about the value added to one's health when wise choices are made over a period of years. At H-H-S, we recognize that good health doesn't just happen. It's a matter of smart choices and sound clinical care. Accordingly, we seek to motivate people, empower you, your families, friends, neighbors and communities to adopt and sustain healthy practices every day. I've been in the Public Health Service for more than three decades. During that time, I've worked with the general public as well as specialized sub-populations. I have had the honor of serving as the assistant bureau director and the medical director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the US Department of Justice. My experiences, the lessons learned, the memorable moments of a career continue to influence my work as Acting Surgeon General. In this capacity, I have the privilege of leading the day-to-day operations of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps - an organization of more than 6,000 public health professionals. We are dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing health, safety and quality of life in our nation. You can do the same at the community level. I'm here to ask for your help, your support, and your active collaboration. The history, numbers, and influence of the National Baptist Convention suggest that your members have the ability to act meaningfully to improve the health status of the American population. You have the skills, the tools and the leadership to improve public health in your communities. Your tradition of helping yourselves, assisting each other, social consciousness and of strengthening church and community is rich. You have the ability to make things happen and you've proven it throughout history. African American churches have a long, unbroken history of community-centeredness, public service, concern and support for one another and for others. I admire your sense of purpose, maintained despite the difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement that came your way as you pursued the greater good. Your legacy is one of inclusion; making a difference; activism for the common good; of courage and commitment to bringing about necessary social and attitudinal change. You, and certainly those before you, your parents and grandparents, have long worked to make a better America. The list of critical social progress which African American faith organizations have helped bring about is long and historic. The tides of policy change to which the National Baptist Convention membership and your fellow faith communities have been devoted, at such sacrifice, over a period of decades are momentous. The causes are familiar, but bear mention still: Where would our nation be on civil rights… voting rights… fair housing opportunity… economic empowerment… without African American faith communities? You are positioned and able to be agents of cultural change once more - this time in supporting a profound transformation in the health status of African- Americans. Let me explain what we mean in using the term "public health." It is about promoting health; It is about preventing diseases before they happen; It is about improving quality of life for individuals and families; It is about creating better communities. Ultimately, improved public health is about saving lives. Priorities That definition helps frame our priorities in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. I'd like to discuss three of them with you. The first priority is Prevention - what each of us can do in our own lives and communities to make ourselves and our families healthier. We want to transform our health care system from a treatment-centered entity to one that focuses on preventing disease and treating diseases early. Another priority and one on which we are focusing relentlessly is Public Health Preparedness. This includes readiness and the capability of rapid response to all hazards, including hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemics. The third priority is Eliminating Health Disparities. It is simply unacceptable that in our great nation there are such dramatic differences in health between populations based on race, socioeconomic status, and geography. One of the biggest problems I am faced with every day is knowing that millions of Americans are suffering from preventable diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90 million Americans live with chronic disease. Estimates indicate that treating people with chronic disease accounts for about 75 percent of the 2 trillion dollars that America spends on health care each year. We lose far too many people every year to preventable diseases. And many of those affected are from minority communities. This is simply unacceptable in our great nation. The African American community offers perhaps the most poignant example of the prevalence of health disparities and their consequences - the staggering human and social costs they exact. Consider (data from the H-H-S Office of Minority Health):
This is unacceptable. These data and others illustrate gaps in care and service that are very troubling. Successfully eliminating or minimizing the impact of the health disparities I just described requires an aggressive approach that includes public outreach, advocacy, and education. National Health Disparities Report The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality produces each year a National Healthcare Disparities Report on behalf of the Department which tracks disparities related to quality of health care and access to health care. The report provides a snapshot of how well we are delivering care, lays out the biggest gaps, and describes national trends. The 2006 Report found that:
The simplicity of one of the report's conclusion makes it no less disturbing. Namely: "…Disparities related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status still pervade the American health care system…disparities are observed in almost all aspects of health care…" The good news is that opportunities for reducing disparities remain; and the help of faith communities is critical if we are to reduce them. Leadership We, at HHS, are deeply committed to eliminating health disparities. We are working to create a health care system that moves us toward a nation that promotes prevention - a nation where children, families, and communities have equitable opportunities for attaining optimal health, regardless of race or geography. To make meaningful progress toward eliminating health disparities we must create awareness of disparities throughout our nation. It is particularly important to partner with our faith communities. Many of us are toiling to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of our people; we have got to work together, outside our silos, and connect the dots. Working together, we can accomplish much more than working alone. And we must move the agenda of eliminating health disparities beyond that of a minority issue. It is a national issue that requires a comprehensive response. Everyone has a role to play. Everyone here can help spread the message. However, it is important to recognize that health literacy - the ability of an individual to access, understand, and use health-related information and services to make sound health decisions - is important to the degree of success that we achieve in reducing disparities and promoting disease prevention. That's why H-H-S, as a Department, is taking what we know and creating tools to help health organizations, care givers, professionals, service, information providers, and change agents like the faith community improve health literacy all over the country. Health Literacy Website and Quick Guide For example, H-H-S has developed a Health Literacy Improvement portal. You can help us get more people on board. All of us - government, the faith community, educators, and health care professionals, - need to work together to improve health literacy. We need to ensure that we communicate effectively; that the delivered message is culturally appropriate; that the message we send is heard, understood, embraced and put into action. Quite simply, we want people to understand in plain language that they can make the right decisions, and we want them to know what they need to do to stay healthy. We need you to be health literacy ambassadors and share this information with congregants, friends and neighbors. Improved health literacy can save lives, save money, and improve the health and well-being of millions of Americans. I want to also make you aware that HHS has developed a Quick Guide to Health Literacy, a brief and easy-to-use manual for improving healthy literacy. The portal can be found at: www.health.gov/communication/literacy HHS Actions on Health Disparities HHS has a variety of programs and initiatives designed to decrease health disparities systemically and individually. One of the most important is our efforts to improve access to care. Community health centers play an important role in expanding access. They serve patients who need it most - those at or below the poverty level, the uninsured, and racial and ethnic minorities. The goal is to get more people who need it into community health centers early in order to focus on prevention and out of the emergency room. In 2001, President Bush outlined a five-year Health Center Initiative to create 1,200 new or expanded sites that could increase the number of people served. Since that pledge in 2001, HHS has established nearly 900 new or expanded health center sites. The number for patients treated annually at community health centers has grown from 10.3 million to 14.1 million. By expanding community health centers, we are not only increasing access points and caring for more people - we are also improving the quality of care and providing more services. One H-H-S public education program in particular is raising awareness about infant mortality within the African American community. The H-H-S Office of Minority Health (OMH) recently launched the national campaign, A Healthy Baby Begins with You. National and local speakers of prominence helped launch the campaign this past May in Washington DC. Among them were campaign spokesperson Tonya Lewis Lee, author, producer and wife of Spike Lee, Charrisse Jackson-Jordan, philanthropist and wife of Washington Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan, Justine Love, radio personality for WPGC, the Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell Sr., pastor of Allen Chapel AME church, and Dr. Gregg A. Pane, director of the District of Columbia Department of Health. Residents participated in health screenings and educational sessions about parenting, breastfeeding and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This is the sort of targeted, culturally relevant, community-driven activity that will enable success in reducing health disparities among African Americans. Similar health information projects are specially tailored to reach other populations among whom disparities exist. Just as the initiative I just described will make a difference in reducing infant mortality among African American mothers, YOU - individually and as communities of worship - can help reduce health disparities more broadly. We can't do it without your support. You can start by focusing on certain key steps that can help prevent disease in any family.
Prevention takes on an even more urgent imperative when discussing our youth. Disease prevention saves lives and produces healthy minds. Underage Drinking We know that individual characteristics such as the early exposure and use of substances and alcohol increase the risk for youth violence. One way you can help us is to talk about the impact underage drinking has on your communities. Earlier this year, the Office of the Surgeon General issued a Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking. Alcohol is the most widely used and abused substance among our Nation's youth. The physical consequences of underage alcohol use range from medical problems to death by alcohol poisoning. Alcohol also plays a significant role in risky sexual behavior including unwanted, unintended and unprotected sexual activity. It increases the risks of physical and sexual assault and underage drinking is a risk factor for heavy drinking later in life. The science indicates that underage drinking is putting our children at risk. Research shows that the brain continues to develop well beyond childhood and throughout adolescence. So underage drinking harms not only our youth, but also our future. You can help by sharing this critical message to those within and outside your congregation. And again, no one segment can do this alone. It takes everyone, working together - parents, families, friends, schools, community organizations, public safety and law enforcement ... and youth themselves. We need to connect the dots! Secondhand Smoke Healthy youth also means eliminating their exposure to smoking and to second hand smoke. Just last summer, the Office of the Surgeon General released a Report about the harmful health effects of secondhand smoke. Eliminating the exposure of secondhand smoke to our youth is a critical component of disease prevention. The research shows us that smoking not only harms the smoker, but it also harms the people nearby the smoker. This includes the smoker's spouse, children, and friends. And children who are exposed to secondhand smoke potentially have dozens of health issues as a result. Kids are more heavily exposed to secondhand smoke than adults. You see it all around you. The infant strapped to the car seat in the back seat of the car, the parent is smoking and all of the windows in the car are rolled up. Or you're in someone's home and they light up a cigarette with children playing nearby, because it's what they've always done - or their parents did it in front of them. In fact, the science tells us it's not okay. And babies exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than babies who are not exposed to cigarette smoke. Given the extensive evidence on the serious health risks posed by secondhand smoke exposure, we cannot be satisfied until all Americans are aware of the health hazards caused by secondhand smoke on their families and loved ones. Guides to Action My office is committed to providing the best scientific information in a way that people can use and understand. By making health information easier to understand, we allow people to actively take steps to increase their health and wellness and to actually prevent disease as a result of healthy choices. In addition to the Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking, H-H-S has also released several documents called "Guides to Action." These "Guides to Action" present the science in a way that Americans can understand and apply to their individual and family circumstances. I am confident that the information in the Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking; and in the secondhand smoking report, when discussed among parents, teachers, community leaders, and young people themselves, embraced and put into action, will literally save lives. More information can be found at www.surgeongeneral.gov However, programs and initiatives like these alone will not eliminate health disparities. African American faith communities have made a profound difference many times before. Your influence, your concerted action, your persuasion, your networks have time and again been instrumental in and critical to your success: in changing public policy, galvanizing the public, touching a society, in reshaping long-held cultural norms much in need of change. The reality of health disparities among African Americans compels you to step forward again. It is your call to action. Surely, you are needed. You are credible. You are familiar. You care. Your community trusts you. You are in a unique position to reach friends, colleagues, communities of people that sometimes don't listen or understand the messages from faceless health policymakers. Churches, places of worship, will ALWAYS be the most familiar "face of information," the most effective safety net, for their congregants. Offer health messages in a consistent, regular fashion in your churches - in the bulletin, in meetings, even from the pulpit. Provide screening and testing for diseases. Find ways to partner with your local health departments. Target people who are at risk - you know who they are, better than anyone else. Include the children of your church in all of these efforts. Be aware of the special health risks to women and men. Encourage your young people to enter the health professions. You can again be powerful agents for change. You can once again redirect history. As others adopt your message, our message - that healthy choices matter, that prevention practices are important to good health - you will have certainly motivated them. You will have taken an important step toward improving community health and securing futures. Ultimately, you will have influenced the choices of people whose names you may never know. What you say and do, as individuals, as congregants, as members of faith communities, as "your brother's keeper," thus is critically important to creating a healthier, fitter nation. That is why I hope the National Baptist Convention, every congregation, every family represented here - indeed, your entire membership and the wider faith community - will work proactively…help in any way possible…to eliminate health disparities. Closing Change - changing the lives of tens of thousands - is within your grasp again. Get involved. Stay involved by actively and continually sharing with your neighbors and friends accurate health information. You can talk about the importance of preventive practices, good diet, physical activity, getting regular health screenings, the need to avoid tobacco and underage drinking, and how to improve one's health literacy. As a matter of routine, you can spread the word about these best health practices. I hope that you, in turn, inspire one another to fully engage, and do everything possible individually to help us decrease health disparities. I encourage you…challenge you… make the choice of prevention, of better health. Help others do the same…connect the dots…work together…commit to being a part of, contributing to, to creating cultural change - in the form of healthier families, neighbors, and communities. That is what we all want for our healthy communities: healthy bodies, healthy minds, and healthy spirits! Few audiences know better that this one just how much one person can make a difference. Please "be the difference" again. Thank you. ### Last revised: September 26, 2007 |
|
 |
