Former assistant secretary of health to headline KU summit
LAWRENCE — Dr. Karen DeSalvo, who was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as assistant secretary for health in 2015, will be the keynote speaker at the Health for the 21st Century summit at the University of Kansas on Jan. 16. She will describe how public health is changing in response to the rise in chronic diseases.
“As health needs evolve and change, it is incumbent on the public health system to be responsive and effective in assuring conditions in which all residents can be healthy,” said Vicki Collie-Akers, associate director for health promotion research at the KU Center for Community Health & Development. “Dr. DeSalvo has served as the chief architect for a model called Public Health 3.0 that aims to achieve this goal.”
Following the Ralph I. Canuteson Memorial Lectureship, tentatively set for 10 a.m., DeSalvo will take part in a panel discussion with Dr. Bob St. Peter, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Institute, and Dr. Robert Moser, executive director of the Kansas Heart & Stroke Collaborative at KU Medical Center.
The summit, which will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Kansas Union, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
The event is sponsored by the KU community health & development center, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, KU Medical Center and the Kresge Foundation.