Dr. David Satcher Visits

David Satcher

"Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health: Where Do We Go From Here?' was the topic of discussion Dr. David Satcher brought during his April 1, 2002 visit to MSU.

His visit was organized by the MSU IDEA Coordinators Social Justice Series and sponsored by a host of offices and departments including the CHM Center of Excellence in Minority Medical Education, the College of Education and Office of the Provost.

Dr. Satcher making a point	Prof. Beth Alexander, introducing the guest

Dr Satcher stressed that the commitment to eliminate disparity in the health sector was increasingly important because of the nation's diversity. "We spend more per capita than any other country in the world. We spend a great percentage of the GNP on health than most countries. Etc. And yet, the 2000 WHO Health System Efficiency report ranked the US 37th. out of 189 countries."

The logic he explains, "Is that, in spite of all the money we spend, there are still huge number of people that are left out in the healthcare delivery system." He gives the example of over 40 million people that are uninsured in this country.

The audience	Alexander helping Satcher with the mic

Health System Efficiency is measured by factors such as access to healthcare, return on investment and efficiency of healthcare delivery.

Dr. Satcher harped on the issue of balance in healthcare delivery. This involves health promotion, disease prevention, early detection and universal access to healthcare. In particular, he said that disparity exists in the healthcare system as per racial and ethnic groups which did not reflect efficiency in healthcare delivery in this country.

David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., served as the 16th Surgeon General of the United States from 1998-2002, and as Assistant Secretary for Health from 1998-2001. He has also held the posts of Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Administration of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Prior to his position at the CDC, he was President of Meharry Medical College. As Surgeon General, Dr. Satcher led the department's effort to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health-an initiative that was incorporated as one of the major goals of Healthy People 2010, the nation's health agenda for the next 10 years.

Dr. Satcher is a former Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and Macy Faculty Fellow, and is the recipient of more than 25 honorary degrees and numerous distinguished
honors. An alumnus of Morehouse College and former administrator in its School of Medicine, Dr. Satcher will assume the post of Director of the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Fall 2002.