Medical-Legal Bay Area Regional Coalition Hosts First West Coast Medical-Legal Partnership Conference Friday, Sept. 16th at UC Hastings, San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bay Area's most progressive healthcare and legal professionals, students and educators will gather at UC Hastings on Friday, Sept. 16 (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.) to mark the first Medical-Legal Partnership conference on the West Coast. Their goal: to transform medicine and law practices to improve community health.
The all-day summit is part of the Medical-Legal partnership movement, a healthcare and legal services delivery model that improves health and well-being of vulnerable populations by integrating health and legal systems. The event has been planned by the Medical-Legal Bay Area Regional Coalition (M-BARC), a partnership that includes 10 Medical-Legal Partnerships with 18 medical sites.
"Families may go to the doctor for a medical issue but may not realize that their problem is also a legal one. Because of medical-legal partnerships, their doctor is trained in recognizing legal barriers that could be impacting a patient's health. This summit brings medical and legal professionals together to share ideas on best practices so we can all better serve our community," said M-BARC member and Peninsula Family Advocacy Program Legal Director Brooke Heymach of Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County.
Highlights include keynote address from Larry Adelman, Co-Director of California Newsreel and Executive Producer of the film, "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?" Panel discussions will cover healthcare reform, training new generations, and new models of medical-legal collaborations. Registration and continental breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m. Summit concludes at 5 p.m. Wine and cheese reception follows. Registration fees are $50 and include continuing education credits as well as breakfast, lunch and entrance to reception. Fee waivers are available for qualifying individuals and organizations.
The event is expected to draw 150 doctors, lawyers, medical residents, medical students, law students, social workers, nurses, nursing students, educators, journalists and others interested in public policy and advocacy. The public is welcome.
"A lot of work has been done on the East Coast to promote the MLP model and we're excited to showcase the energy and organization of MLPs on the West Coast," said Sarah M. Hooper, Assistant Director of the UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy and adjunct professor. "We want to help people now – and take these partnerships to the next level."
Register: www.m-barc.org
Contact: Delfin Vigil. (415) 492-0230, Ext. 315. [email protected]
SOURCE Medical-Legal Bay Area Regional Coalition (M-BARC)
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