Tackling Health Inequity: A Practical Approach To Upstream Community Prevention

Please join us at a gathering that will feature the 2014 Watada Lecture Series speaker: Dr. Anthony Iton, who will discuss “Tackling Health Inequity: A Practical Approach To Upstream Community Prevention”

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2014

Time: 5pm (until approximately 8 or 9pm)

Location: Church of the Crossroads: 1212 University Ave.

Features: Dr. Iton presentation with opportunity for Q&A, music from Grammy award-winning Jeff Peterson, drinks and pupus

Admission: free; all welcome!

Parking: lot off of Kaialiu St (Bingham St), or street parking

Please note, as a “lead-up” to Dr. Iton’s visit, we will be showing a documentary film, Ola, which features communities in Hawaii who are changing their own health environments through their own action. (Please see trailer here.)

Date: Friday, September 26, 2014

Time: 6pm (film is 76 mins in length)

Location: Crawford Hall, University of Hawaii Manoa Campus, Room 105

About the topic:

America leads the world in medical research and medical care, and for all we spend on healthcare we should be the healthiest people on earth. Yet on some of the most important indicators like how long we live, we are not even in the top 25 behind countries like Bosnia and Jordan. Americans need to stop thinking of health as something we only get at the doctor’s office instead of something that starts in our families, in our schools and workplaces, in our playgrounds and parks and in the air we breathe and the water we drink. We need to take action at the community level to improve access to healthy food, safety on the streets and green public parks in order for our children to play outside, access to quality education and local employment opportunities. The more we see our health this way, the more opportunities we have to improve it!

Dr. Iton will talk about how community environments shape health and how those environments can be changed through a combination of policy and systems change, community organizing and power building, and changing the narrative.

Biography: Dr. Anthony Iton

Anthony Iton, M.D., J.D., MPH is Senior Vice President for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment, a statewide health foundation in California. He oversees the organization’s 10-year, $1 billion “Building Healthy Communities” program that empowers 14 local communities across the state to identify existing assets and build social, political and economic power among its residents. For example in East Oakland, public officials and residents are collaborating to bring needed businesses, like grocery stores, to underserved neighborhoods, make sure parks are clean and welcoming for all ages and ensure that people can safely walk, bike or take public transportation.

Prior to his current position at The California Endowment, Dr. Iton served for seven years as the Alameda County Public Health Department Director and Health Officer where he oversaw a budget of $112 million with a focus on preventing communicable disease outbreaks, reducing the burden of chronic disease and obesity. He has worked as an HIV disability rights attorney at the Berkeley Community Law Center, a health care policy analyst with Consumers Union West Coast Regional Office, and as a physician and advocate for the homeless at the San Francisco Public Health Department.

Dr. Iton received his medical degree at Johns Hopkins Medical School and subsequently trained in internal medicine and preventive medicine at New York Hospital, Yale, and Berkeley and is board certified in both specialties. Dr. Iton also holds a law degree and a Master’s of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley and is a member of the California Bar.

About Watada Lecture Series

Established in 1999, the Watada Lecture Series hosts a speaker every other year, to bring increased awareness on issues within the topic areas of peace, social justice and the environment. The Watada Lectures were set up in recognition of Umematsu and Yasu Watada, and their interest and engagement in social justice and peace, as well as their love for introducing young people to nature and the environment. The Lecture Series is supported by Church of the Crossroads, where the Watada’s were longtime members. Church of the Crossroads is well known within the community as a leader on issues of social justice, peace and environmental protection and is open to all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation or ethnic background.

Watada Lectures 2014 partnered with the Hawaii Primary Care Association to bring Dr. Iton to Hawaii. Watada Lecture Series is grateful for their support.

About Hawaii Primary Care Association (HPCA)

The Hawai’i Primary Care Association (HPCA) is a non-profit organization that improves the health of communities in need by advocating for, expanding access to, and sustaining high quality health care through a statewide network of Community Health Centers.