Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to Deliver Keynote Address at the National

Conference will confront Health Disparities and Reporting on Health Care Reform in communities of color

Washington, D.C., February 17, 2010 – Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will deliver the keynote address at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual conference on Health Disparities, March 4-6, 2010 at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center, Kaiser Family Foundation, 1330 G. Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

The conference will provide journalists the tools to effectively report on the impact of health-care policies and reform as it affects communities of color. Secretary Sebelius is scheduled to speak on Thursday, March 4, 2010.

Since taking office as the 21st Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sebelius has been the leading advocate for some of President Obama’s top priorities. As the country’s highest-ranking health official, she has been a powerful voice for reforming our health insurance system. At the conference, Sebelius will speak on: the lack of access to proper care for many communities; prevention and wellness; and the need for quality health care for all Americans.

"It is an honor to have Secretary Sebelius serve as our keynote speaker,” said NABJ President Kathy Y. Times. "With steadily high unemployment rates, epidemic levels of chronic disease, and disproportionately high rates of premature death in communities of color, journalists must take a deeper look at the future of health care reform and health policies that impact their health and well-being. The Secretary’s decision to attend this conference demonstrates the topic is important to her and the Obama administration."

This annual conference has garnered the attention of other headliners and newsmakers in the fight to bring attention to health care disparity, including former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, and Phill Wilson, Founder of the Black AIDS Institute.

Topics addressed at the conference include covering and understanding the social determinants of health, creative community solutions to health care access and prevention, updates on HIV/AIDS in the black community, mental health, food access and understanding studies and data. In addition, Saturday is Career Development Day, dedicated to helping journalists figure out new opportunities to cover health in this changing environment.

For program information, media, advertising and sponsorship inquiries regarding this conference, contact NABJ Director of Programs and Professional Development, Ryan Williams at rwilliams@nabj.org or 1-866-479-NABJ.  The conference is hosted by Kaiser Family Foundation, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company and co-sponsored by the American Heart Association.