By snoadmin
Former United States Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona appeared in downtown Long Beach Thursday to discuss national problems of health and medical treatments.
The 7th annual Healthcare Symposium: Innovations and Challenges for Caring for the Underserved was held by the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCLAC) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Long Beach. Carmona was a keynote speaker for the event, and addressed public health administrators, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, students and CEOs about the importance of prevention in the current health care debate, specifically for underserved populations.
“As a surgeon general, your loyalty is to the people, not a political party,” Carmona said.
A firm supporter in community health clinics, Carmona said that science and medicine should not be political, but culturally adapted.
“Community health centers have the ability to culturally adapt science, which is one of the biggest trials in the White House,” he said.
A one-size-fits-all health care system, according to Carmona, would not be in the best interest for all Americans, saying that the “solution for obesity in Beverly Hills is not the same solution in the hood, in Harlem.”
Carmona also expressed concern about the future generation of young adults.
“This is the first generation in the history of the United States that may not outlive their parents,” Carmona said.
Obesity, diabetes and hypertension are among the things the current generation commonly faces. He added that, “If you exercise, eat healthier and in smaller portions – and don’t smoke – it is possible to reduce diabetes by 80 percent and to cut cancer in half.”
Carmona said his advice comes not from science, but from life experience, and that it helped him while serving as the U.S. surgeon general from 2002 to 2006 under President George W. Bush.
Living in poverty as a young boy in Harlem, Carmona dropped out of high school to enlist in the armed forces. After serving in the Vietnam War, he decided to obtain his GED, which was the only way for him to attend Bronx Community College. With dreams of a college degree, Carmona was eventually accepted by the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.
Carmona graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977, and received his medical degree in 1979.
The CCLAC and Carmona stressed the importance of community health clinics as useful tools in providing health care access to the underserved and uninsured populations in the country. The CCLAC is the largest association of free community health clinics in California, with seven free clinics Long Beach.
“Nothing is more important than the health of our public citizens, especially those who scream the loudest and sometimes are never heard,” Carmona said.
