International Community Health Summit is Held in Houston

Community-based health care organizations from Australia, Mexico and Panama joined some prominent U.S. health care providers in Houston Sept. 23-24 for the Houston International Community Health Summit, a two-day symposium of lectures and workshops.

"Community-based organizations from Houston and other parts of our nation and the world with similar programs [came] together to discuss existing similarities and differences and how these affect health care delivery," says Dr. Maria Ferris, assistant professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas-Houston Medical School and director of the international affairs program at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Participants discussed successes and challenges in their agencies and programs, with special emphasis on cultural factors that impacted health care delivery.

(Because the TMC News was scheduled to go press midway through the conference, only several of the first day's presentations are covered.)

Dr. William R. Archer III, Commissioner, Texas Department of Health, spoke to the approximately 100 attendees present on "Re-Framing Public Health: An Assessment of Threats to Community and Individual Health in the New Millennium."

It is a dangerous assumption, Dr. Archer warned, to believe that a health care system - even a very good one - will guarantee good health. The best health care in the world is here in the U.S., Dr. Archer stated, yet "in our minority community you see higher rates of infant mortality and low birth weight, higher rates of coronary disease and diabetes, and lower rates of immunizations."

Dr. Archer, known for his strong support of preventative health care, discussed the effects of lifestyle and behavior on health. "Forty percent of the deaths in our country are because of lifestyle and behavior," he said. "In fact, seven of the 10 leading causes of death are because of lifestyle choices."

In the next millennium, Dr. Archer hopes to see more health care dollars directed towards healthy living, "not the sickness model."

"There are some things we've not see before, like type II diabetes in children, and we need to ask ourselves `Why?' We say we care about our children, but they eat high-fat lunches, get little or no exercise, and are offered sugar and fat wherever they turn."

Dr. Archer concluded by imploring all health care providers - including the Texas Department of Health - to view health and health care as a continuum. Finally, Dr. Archer asked the audience to work towards dismantling the alienation and isolation in some communities - notably in inner cities - that can breed illness, mental health and early death.

Dr. Mary desVignes-Kendrick, director of the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, spoke to the conference attendees on "Challenges and Opportunities in Urban Public Health."

"Houston," she told the attendees, "is second only to Los Angeles in racial diversity." It's time, she continued, to actively seek a cultural competency throughout the community.

Additionally, Dr. Kendrick discussed poverty as a health care indicator. "Children who are poor are eight times as likely to be homicide victims, five times as likely to be physically or mentally disabled, five times as likely to be abused, three times as likely to die in childhood and twice as likely to die in an accident."

Dr. Kendrick, noted that for every $70 spent directly towards health care, only one dollar is spent on illness prevention.

- ROGER WIDMEYER

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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