March 30, 2010

***Health Care Access for the Most Vulnerable: What Works? ***

M. Jean Serafy, excecutive director of Free Clinics of the Western Region, will be the keynote speaker at the 14th annual Social Justice Colloquium Wednesday, April 14, at CSU Monterey Bay.

"Health Care Access for the Most Vulnerable: What Works?" is the theme of the event. It will link the current crisis in health care accessibility, especially for marginalized members of society, to issues of social justice, and explore how these concerns can be addressed.

"Health care has been an ongoing debate in the United States since the early 1900s and has impacted every person's life in some way," said Dr. Rebecca Bales, assistant professor in the Division of Social, Behavioral and Global Studies at CSUMB.

"Some vulnerable populations in California have limited access to health care. This year's colloquium will focus on this issue because health care is an issue of social justice when vulnerable populations have limited or no access."

Ms. Serafy will speak from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. in the University Center ballroom. Her background in health care management includes more than 35 years of experience in a variety of public and private settings. She has a master's of business administration degree in health care administration from National University in San Diego.

The keynote address will be followed by a roundtable discussion with Mark Espinosa, executive director of the San Francisco Native American Health Center; Dr. Mark Tunzi, residency director at Natividad Medical Center; and Allen Hullinger, administrative officer of the Veterans Administration clinics in Monterey, San Jose and Capitola. Dr. Bales will moderate the panel. A question-and-answer session will follow.

"By inviting experts who work to bring health care to the vulnerable, we will shed light on this issue and strategize about how best to address it," Dr. Bales said.

The day will start with a health fair in the campus quad from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula's Tyler Heart Institute will take blood pressure readings, representatives from the Central Coast Visiting Nurse Association will do cholesterol screening for a $35 fee and Central Coast HIV/AIDS Services will administer free HIV/AIDS tests. Among the organizations that will distribute information about health care options in Monterey County are the county Department of Social and Employment Services, Natividad Immunology and Diabetes Outpatient services, Planned Parenthood, Clinica de Salud and the Central Coast Pediatric Dental Group, among others.

The Social Justice Colloquium is an annual event featuring international activists and scholars discussing timely questions of social and environmental justice.

The event is free and open to the public. Parking for the evening portion of the program is free in the University Center lot. For driving directions and a campus map, visit csumb.edu/map.

For more information, or for disability accommodations, call Florence Shirakawa at 582-3890.