Rural Women's Health Conference
Summary Report
 Summary Report (PDF File, 1.82 Mb)
August 13 -15, 2007
Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington DC |
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Welcome & Greetings
Wanda K. Jones, Dr.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health
(Women's Health) and Director of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services Office on Women's Health, opened the 2007 Charting
New Frontiers in Rural Women's Health Conference and welcomed
participants. She noted that many of the conference's participants
represent OWH's CoEs, CCOEs, and RFCCs—from whom OWH has
learned numerous strengths and lessons that are making a difference in
national women's program efforts.
Dr. Jones noted that people's thinking is often restricted by the area in
which they live and work. For example, in Washington, DC, thinking is
often restricted by the "Beltway" or the highway that circumscribes the
metropolitan area. People frequently say that you have to get outside the
Beltway to understand how the rest of America lives and interacts with
the services the Federal Government provides. In most of rural America,
life truly is a collaborative effort—women and men work together.
Although there is still a division of labor by gender, you are just as likely
to see girls and women doing the heavy work as you are to see men.
Dr. Jones explained how when it seems like everything is paved
from Washington, DC to Boston, it is hard for people to realize that
approximately one-fifth of the U.S. population lives in a rural area. It is
also hard to understand that, day in and day out, people deal not only
with environmental challenges, such as drought, floods, and wildfires,
but also with the fact that getting to town takes much more than just
jumping in the car. It could involve a drive of several hours.
Dr. Jones shared an example of a friend of hers who went to serve the
Native American population in Alaska and had to take a plane every
6 weeks to get groceries. When you need health care in a rural setting
like that, you do not just make an appointment and show up. It is
a challenge if you have to return in 3 days and transportation is not
reliable or readily available. She noted that one of the purposes of this
conference is to share some of the success stories in overcoming these
challenges.
Dr Jones concluded by thanking the numerous people
and organizations who helped make the conference
possible. In particular, Dr. Jones thanked Marcia Brand
from ORHP; the Planning Committee; Verizon Wireless;
Samuel Allende and the Marshfield Clinic; the New York
CCOE at St. Barnabas Hospital; the Scitor Corporation;
the University of California, San Francisco CoE; the CDC
for sponsoring the conference's continuing education
credits; and the staff at OWH for their ongoing dedication
and hard work.
Current as of October 17, 2008
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