On November 11, 12, and 13, 2008, the Mississippi State Legislative Select Committee on Health Disparity held hearings at the State Capitol in Jackson.

These hearings will help lead to policies to eliminate health disparities in the State of Mississippi. The three days consisted of expert speakers on such subjects as Healthy Kids, Access to Care, Building Healthy Families, Data as a Tool to Reduce Disparities in Health, Access to Health Insurance, Cultural Competency Education, Community Health Centers, Community Health Workers, Workforce Education, Disease Management, Mental Health Services in Rural Communities, and Statewide Strategies to Reduce Disparities in Health. A follow-up meeting was held on December 8, 2008, to discuss possible policy options to be presented when the Legislative Session begin in January 2009.

Presentations at the 2008 Committee on Health Disparity Hearings

• Education Policy: Educational Polices to Move Kids Forward
  Jennifer Stedron MS, PhD, Program Director, NCSL Education Program
  Shane McNeill MS, Special Asst. to the Chief Deputy Superintendent, Health Schools
• Access to Care and the Economic Impact of Physicians
  Lynn Cossman, PhD, MS, Research Fellow, SSRC MS Health Policy Research Center at MSU
• Building Healthy Families is Building Strong Families: Asset Building
  Mary Fairchild, Senior Fellow, NCSL State Services Division
• Data: Information as a Tool to Reduce Disparities in Health
  Joseph Surkin, Director MEDSS/PHIN, Mississippi State Department of Health
• State Policy Option to Improve Access to Health Insurance and Health Care for Adults and Children
  Laura Tobler, MPP, Program Director, NCSL Education Program
• Supporting Continuing Cultural Competency Education for Health Care Providers
  Christina Glick, MD, FAAP, IBCLC, Neonatologist, Newborn Associates
• Community Health Centers: Success in Reducing Health Disparities in a Patient Population
  Robert Pugh, MPH, Executive Director, Mississippi Primary Health Care Association
• The Role of Community Health Workers in Reducing Health Disparities
  Susan Mayfield-Johnson, PhD, MPH, CHES, Director Education/Training, University of Southern MS
  Lela Keys, LSW, Program Director, Northwest MS Regional Medical Center: Delta Community Partners in Care
• Economic Strategies to Retooling the 21st Century Workforce
  Ed Sivak, MPP, Director Mississippi Economic Policy Center
  Dexter Holloway, Director of workforce Education, Mississippi Community & Junior College Board
  Wanda Land, Workforce Specialist, Mississippi Development Authority
• Disease Management: A State-Wide Care Continuum
  Jennifer Gholson, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Information & Quality Healthcare
• Access to Mental Health Service in the Rural Communities
  Grayson Norquist, MD, MS, Professor & Psychiatry Chairman, University of Mississippi Medical Center
• Statewide Strategies to Reduce Disparities in Health
  Linda Holmes, MPA, Executive Director, Office of Minority and Multicultural Health
  Melissa Hansen, NCSL Policy Associate