March 29, 2024

Violence in America: The Wider Conversation

Violence in America: The Wider Conversation By Eugene Steuerle In the aftermath of Newtown and, by one estimate, 25 mass shootings since 2006, the country is engaged in an intense fight over assault-like weapons and the right of Americans to carry them. While I consider it downright stupid and outright dangerous to allow people to buy, sell, and carry around the equivalent of small machine guns—imagine how safe you would feel if all your loony neighbors touted one around—I wish we were … [Read more...]

Randy Hall: Dedicated Advocate for the Underserved

On Friday, March 8, 2013 ACU recognized Emerson 'Randy' Hall for his dedicated service as an advocate for the underserved. Randy served as an ACU board member from 2008 – 2012. He has made significant contributions to health care for the underserved in the areas of HIV/AIDs, depression and mental health services, diabetes, smoking and access to care, to new only a few. He  has been involved in patient advocacy and worked with more than 70 national societies and consumer groups. The … [Read more...]

Dr. Fred Lewis-Hall on Patient Engagement

Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, an ACU charter member, began her career as a member of the National Health Service Corps. Today, she appears regularly on the television shows "The Doctors" and "Rachel Ray." In this interview with ACU President Katherine Brieger, Lewis-Hall reflects on what she has learned about patient engagement in a career that spans working with the underserved, teaching, research, private practice and industry. She is the author of Make Your Mark! Why Legacy Still Matters. … [Read more...]

Giselle Perry

As a licensed professional counselor, Giselle Perry balances her time between private practice and the Loudoun Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center in Northern Virginia that provides primary care to people with limited or no health insurance.  Giselle describes her satisfaction in working with the underserved and helping a particular patient overcome one of her greatest fears.[display_podcast]   … [Read more...]

New Smartphone App on Tobacco Cessation

ACU has launched a new smartphone app that helps clinicians talk to patients about tobacco use. The app includes a six brief questions that clinicians can ask patients to measure their nicotine dependence. Release of the app coincides with the annual Great American Smokeout, a day when Americans are encouraged to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. The ACU Low Health Literacy Nicotine Addition Test scores the patient's responses to the six questions and … [Read more...]

Call for Papers on Obesity Prevention

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (NIMHD/NIH) announced a call for papers for a special theme issue of the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU) on “Advancing Obesity Prevention: Quality Improvements, Emerging Models and Best Practices." The details are reported below. ACU members are encouraged to submit their work. Please note the deadline for … [Read more...]