January 10, 2003

Satcher speaks at MGH on racial disparity

During December's holiday hustle and bustle, many MGHers took time Dec. 16 to hear a prestigious guest speaker raise an important subject to the health care community — racial disparities. Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD (right), spoke about inequality in health status and access to care for minorities. His presentation focused on the Healthy People 2010 goals, which is a set of national objectives used by community, state and professional organizations to develop programs designed to improve health. One of the main goals of the program is to eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population.

Satcher's visit to the MGH was sponsored by MGH Community Benefits, the MGH Multicultural Affairs Office (MAO), the MGH Office of the President and the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO). The presentation also featured MGH guest speakers James J. Mongan, MD, now president and CEO of Partners HealthCare; Peter L. Slavin, MD, now president of the MGH; Win Williams, MD, director of the MAO; Deborah Washington, RN, director of Diversity for Patient Care Services, and Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, of the MAO.

As a follow-up to this event, Slavin is forming a subcommittee of the hospital's Diversity Committee to examine the role the MGH could play in reducing racial disparities.