Patient Advocacy Leaders and Health Policy Professionals Join Forces to Change the...

Patient Advocacy Leaders and Health Policy Professionals Join Forces to Change
the Paradigm for Care
Conference highlights model programs that improve quality of care while
lowering costs.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Californians are suffering, both
physically and economically, from chronic diseases. To address this
widespread threat to our state's health and bottom line, patient advocacy
leaders and health policy experts join forces for a one-day summit, Diabetes,
Obesity, and Heart Disease: Changing the Paradigm to Care. This summit is
being held January 15, 2008, from 8:00 AM to 3:45 PM at The California
Endowment in Los Angeles, 1000 N. Alameda St. located in Yosemite Hall.
More than 16.3 million cases of chronic diseases -- including cancer,
diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, mental disorders, and pulmonary
conditions -- were reported in California in 2003, according to the Milken
Institute. These chronic conditions can shorten lives, reduce quality of life,
and place a significant burden on caregivers. In addition, these diseases
cost Californians approximately $133 billion dollars a year in direct
treatment costs and lost productivity(1). These diseases account for 75% of
our healthcare spending, yet are often preventable and increasingly
treatable(2).
"We must look at healthcare by finding solutions and implementing them,
not by continuing the status quo" said Liz Helms, Chair, California Chronic
Care Coalition. "California -- and the rest of the nation -- must focus on
preventing chronic diseases/conditions through better disease management and
appropriate medical intervention. Healthy living and continuing development of
innovative treatments will ensure that quality of life is as high as
possible."
Changing the Paradigm to Care will feature presentations from a variety of
speakers with an interest in lowering the impact of chronic diseases on the
state of California. The agenda will include:
-- Francine Kaufman, MD-Professor of Pediatrics and Communications at USC
and Children's Hospital Los Angeles
-- Edith Mirzaian, PharmD-Clinical Instructor, Clinical Coordinator of USC
Pharmacies, USC School of Pharmacy
-- Cindy Ehnes, Director, Department of Managed Health Care
-- Roger Chene, MPH, RD, Area Health Promotion Specialist, Greater Los
Angeles, California Diabetes Program, California Department of Public
Health
-- Karen Vicari, JD-Executive Director, Alliance for Better Medicine
-- Vicki Eaton, RD/CDE-The Whittier Institute for Diabetes, Project Dulce
-- Kwabena Adubofour, MD-Medical Director, East Main Clinic and Stockton
Diabetes Intervention
-- Betty Hennessy, PhD-Senior Program Director, Healthy Schools Office,
Curriculum & Instructional Services, Los Angeles County Office of
Education
-- Charles Ruhlin, MD, MPA-Co-Director & Investigator, California Health
Care Foundation Health Care Leadership Program, Center for the Health
Professions, University of California, San Francisco

Changing the Paradigm to Care was developed by an advisory board that
included the Alliance for Better Medicine, American Diabetes Association,
California Chronic Care Coalition, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California,
and the Pharmacy Foundation of California, and is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline
and the TMJ and Orofacial Pain Society of America.
About the TMJ and Orofacial Pain Society of America
The TMJ and Orofacial Pain Society (TOPS) of America is the leading voice
of advocacy nationwide for those who suffer from the many faces of "TMD" --
temporomandibular (joint) disorders. TOPS America is a founding member of the
CA Coalition and is the primary organizer of this conference.
(1) The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease on California. The Milken
Institute. http://www.chronicdiseaseimpact.com
(2) CDC, "Chronic Disease Overview: Costs of Chronic Disease," available
at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/overview.htm
SOURCE TOPS America

Andrea Hayes for TOPS America, +1-650-303-3940