KDHE Announces April Health Disparities Conference

'Save the Date' and Create Healthy Kansas Communities

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will provide the opening address to the 2006 Health Disparities Conference: Healthy Cultures, Healthy Kansas, sponsored for the second straight year by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), on April 14. It will be held from 7 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Maner Conference Center / Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka.

Dr. David R. Williams, a nationally recognized author and researcher on social influences on health, will make a return trip to Kansas as the conference's keynote presenter. Williams, a University of Michigan Professor, is a nationally recognized author and researcher on social influences on health and is centrally interested in the trends and determinants of socioeconomic and racial differences in mental and physical health.

This year's conference will recognize a Kansan for their work as a community champion for their efforts to improve the public health of racial and ethnic populations across the state. Also, the conference will host a 'Taste of Cultures' Legislative and Constituent Networking Reception on Thursday, April 13 from 5 - 9 p.m. as part of its conference early registration period.

Displays, presentations, networking with friends and colleagues, and making new connections will all be part of the one-day conference. Health professionals and community champions from across Kansas and the Midwest will share best practices through seminars, presentations and displays to learn about new strategies and resources to improve the health of diverse racial and ethnic populations across the state.

Registration and conference materials are available on the web to organizations and individuals specializing in improving the health of racial and ethnic populations in Kansas, according to Sharon Goolsby, program coordinator for the Office of Minority Health.

Back to KDHE News Release Index