The Center for Health Policy in conjunction with academic and state agencies from both Missouri and Kansas will be hosting the 2nd Annual Achieving Health Equity conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17 and 18, 2007, at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. The focus of this year's program, Achieving Health Equity: Ensuring Access to Care, will be the uninsured and underinsured issues facing racial and ethnic minorities. Invited keynote speakers include Gloria WilderBrathwaite, MD, MPH, CEO, Core Health; Carmen Tafolla, BA, MA, PhD, consultant and internationally acclaimed writer and educator; and Samuel Betances, PhD, Senior Diversity consultant with Souder, Betances and Associates, Inc.

Regional keynotes include Roderick Bremby, the Kansas Secretary of Health and Environment and John Bluford, President and CEO of Truman Medical Centers.

Break out sessions will include panelists from providers who are involved in best practices in both states. Mental health will be the focus of two of those sessions, one that will focus on the jail, court and homeless shelters as unofficial mental health providers, the other focusing on family violence. In addition, there will be sessions on serving undocumented populations, legislative initiatives devoted to health care access, health care provider education on diversity and cultural competency, school-based initiatives, prenatal and perinatal care, tobacco prevention, and chronic disease management - specifically, diabetes.

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