Local Experts to Discuss Immigrant Health Concerns at Upcoming Med Student Convention in Houston -- Mar. 6-10, 2002 3/6/2002
From: Tim Clarke, Jr. of AMSA, 703-620-6600, ext. 207 or 301-814-2678 (mobile) Email: prel@www.amsa.org News Advisory: Local physicians and other experts will discuss emerging immigrant health problems at the upcoming meeting of the American Medical Student Association, set for March 6-10, at the Hyatt Regency Downtown in Houston, Texas. Immigrant health concerns were recently brought into focus when Houston's public hospitals came under fire for providing emergency room and other health care services to undocumented immigrants, apparently in violation of a 1996 federal welfare reform law. Texas' attorney general had threatened to take the hospitals to court to force them to stop providing the care, but that potential lawsuit was recently shelved. The issue of how to provide quality, culturally competent care to this segment of the population still worries policymakers and providers, and these issues will be addressed during AMSA's upcoming meeting. "Poor access to healthcare services for legal and undocumented immigrants is not just a Texas problem," according to Jaya Agrawal, AMSA's national president. "Nationwide, immigrants account for 20 percent of the uninsured. AMSA's meeting will have an impact of students nationwide and we are fortunate to be in Houston where there is an active movement for immigrant health advocacy." Houston-area speakers include: -- Stella Olveda of the South Texas Environmental Education and Research (STEER) (3/6/02, 10:30 a.m.) -- Barbara Best, Texas Child Health Outreach Coordinator at the Children's Defense Fund (3/6/02, 12:30 p.m.) -- Kathleen Becan-McBride, Director of Community Outreach and Education at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (3/6/02, 1:30 p.m.) -- Ciro Sumaya, M.D., Dean of the School of Rural Public Health at Texas A&M University (3/9/02, 3 p.m.) NOTE TO PRESS: All AMSA events are open and press is welcome to attend. Please contact Tim Clarke, Jr., AMSA PR Director, at 703-620-6600, ext. 207 (before 3/5) and mobile: 301-814-2678 (after 3/6). |