The 2004 Minority Health Conference at USC addresses minority health disparities and raises awareness of minority health issues in Southern California. The event is organized by the UCLA and USC medical school chapters of APAMSA, LMSA, MedGLO and SNMA, and is a joint effort to present Asian American, Latino, LGBT, and African American health collectively as one voice. The unique motivation behind this collaboration is to synergize the work of our three minority organizations, all of which promote parallel causes for different ethnic groups. Goals of the conference include educating students and physicians on the critical issues behind minority health, and providing a forum to discuss the barriers facing physicians and patients in minority communities.

The topic of this year's conference is "Bridging Cultures & Enhancing Minority Healthcare." For the 2003 Minority Health Conference website, click here.

    On the weekend of October 1st, APAMSA will be attending the Diversity Symposium. According to its website, "The Diversity Symposium, now in its third year, brings together healthcare providers, administrators, medical educators, health and allied health profession students, and community and business leaders from Southern California and the rest of the nation. This program will focus on increasing participants’ understanding of the healthcare political landscape in order to acquire skills and knowledge needed to advocate for healthcare issues. Attendees will have the opportunity to develop skills required to translate strategies into actions designed to improve health service delivery, medical education and research."

For more information, visit the Diversity Symposium's website, or contact Vicky.

    This year's APAMSA National Conference will be held in Houston, TX, home of our favorite Asian, Yao Ming. The theme of the conference this year is "Leading By Example." As a national organization, we have the opportunity to influence the lives of many Asian Americans but often do not know where to start. This year, we have decided to implement a health fair in the Houston community with the intent of demonstrating the kind of potential we have when we work towards the same goal.

    There will be an exciting and informative set of speakers this year. Seminars will address issues in public health, research, international health, and nontraditional medicine. To find out more, visit the APAMSA National Conference website.

    While the incidence of chronic Hepatitis B among most Americans is 1 in 200, the incidence is 1 in 10 within API communities. More than half of the 1.25 million people with chronic Hepatitis B in the United States are Asian Americans, and one in four people with chronic Hepatitis B will eventually die of chronic liver failure or liver cancer.

    The Asian Liver Center at Stanford University developed the Jade Ribbon Campaign to address this health disparity. The campaign is an initiative to build awareness in the API and healthcare communities in an effort to reduce the incidence of chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer in this high-risk group. The campaign chose the Jade Ribbon as the emblem for the campaign because in many Asian cultures, jade represents the essence of heaven and earth and is believed to bring good luck and longevity while deflecting negativity.

To find out more, visit the Jade Ribbon Campaign's website.

    The UCSD Shiley Eye Center provides an amazing service to elementary school children. The Shiley Eye Center uses a traveling optometry office called the Eye Mobile to provide exams to about 1,500 students in San Diego's lowest-performing schools and in Head Start programs. The Lions Club of San Diego provides glasses for free, while funding for the Eye Mobile comes from the First 5 Commission of San Diego.

    APAMSA has gotten itself involved in the project also, volunteering to follow up on all of the children the Eye Mobile services. APAMSA calls each and every family to see how the glasses have impacted the child's performance in school as well as their lives.

    With APAMSA's assistance, Shiley can monitor the efficacy of its amazing service and learn how to better serve these children.

    Check out this story about the Eye Mobile.

    This referral sheet project still needs a lot of work, and most importantly, volunteers. So please contact Sonya or Jeff if you have input or would like to help.

Co-presidents:
Vicki Ng

Jeffrey Lee

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