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'Making the Affordable Care Act Work' is focus of program
March 12, 2014
Dr. Donna M. Christensen of the U.S. House of Representatives will be the keynote speaker for the 2014 James E. Clyburn Health Disparities Lecture.
Dr. Donna M. Christensen, the first female physician to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, will be the featured speaker for the 2014 James E. Clyburn Health Disparities Lecture on Friday, April 11, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
The program, which begins at 9:30 a.m., comes during National Public Health Week and is sponsored by USC's Arnold School of Public Health and Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities. It is free and open to the public.
The theme of the event is “Moving Forward: Making the Affordable Care Act Work through Research, Education, and Community Engagement."
"Our lecture and the continued focus on the Affordable Care Act over the last several years is not about politics but about saving lives, prolonging quality of life, and eliminating the disparate health conditions that the poor, the rural, and minority populations experience on daily basis," said Dr. Saundra Glover, director of the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities. "The ACA has potential to do all of these while improving the overall well-being of all people."
The James E. Clyburn Health Disparities Leadership Awards will be presented, and a scientific poster session will focus on health disparities research. A reception will follow at the convention center, located at 1101 Lincoln St.
Christensen, who is serving her ninth term, brings an impressive wealth of experience in medicine and health to the U.S. Congress. The first woman to represent an offshore territory, Christensen is the first woman delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands and is an Assistant Minority Whip in the Democratic Caucus.
She serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittees on Health, on Energy and Power, and on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. Â Christensen also chairs the Congressional Black Caucus’ Health Braintrust, which oversees and advocates minority health issues nationally and internationally, and serves on numerous committees and caucuses.
A board-certified family physician, Christensen earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind., and her medical degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine. She interned at Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and completed her residency in family medicine at Howard University Medical Center.
Christensen began her medical career in the Virgin Islands in 1975 as an emergency room physician, and she held director posts in maternal and child health before rounding out her medical career as the Territorial Assistant Commissioner of Health and as the Acting Commissioner of Health. She maintained a private practice in family medicine until her election to Congress in 1996.
The lecture series honors Clyburn, who serves South Carolina's Sixth District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Elected in 1992, Clyburn is the Assistant Democratic Leader in the 113th Congress, the No. 3 Democrat in the House and the leadership liaison to the Appropriations Committee. He is one of the Democratic Caucus' primary liaisons to the White House.
