W.K. Kellogg Convenes Community Voices Representatives, Health Workers, Legislators at Networking Meeting

Community health care representatives from 13 cities from New York to California learned from each other, health researchers, health practitioners and legislators at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Voices: Health Care for the Underserved networking meeting, coordinated by CPA. Community Voices channels community voices to inform public policies that will improve access to health care for underserved populations.

In their work for the Vision for Health Consortium, a Community Voices site in Baltimore, Chairman Hakim Farrakhan, Community Representative Chanelle Cooper and Executive Director Shiegeyo Ibrahim, are targeting residents in a largely African-American area of Baltimore least likely to be reached by other health care programs. Cooper teaches Vision for Health staff about community needs and works directly with community members to educate them about health care institutions and services.

Arizona Rep. Sally Ann Gonzalez (Flemming Fellow `99) was joined by Georgia Rep. Connie Stokes (Flemming Fellow `96) and Arizona Rep. Susan Gerard (Flemming Fellow `95) on a panel at the W.K. Kellogg conference. Educating legislators early on in the development of pilot projects is critical, panelists noted.

Gonzalez, who served on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Tribal Council and is a member of the National Indian Health Board, encouraged Community Voices participants to work directly with legislators. "We want to hear from real people more than paid lobbyists," she said. She also encouraged participants: "Most legislation doesn’t happen the first time around. Try and try again."