LITTLE ROCK – UAMS will hold a free conference next Thursday focusing on health care disparities in the lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population.
The January 16 event, “Providing Optimal Health Care for LGBT
Patients,” will feature keynote speaker Harvey Makadon, M.D., director
of the National LGBT Health Education Center at The Fenway Institute in Boston
and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
The conference will run from 8:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. in the Walton Auditorium on the 10th floor of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Dr. Makadon’s lecture, “Taking a
History of Sexual Health – Recognizing the Risk,” will be at 9:00.
“LGBT people have disproportionately high rates of tobacco
use, HIV infection, encounters with violence and homelessness, elevated rates
of depression and suicide attempts, and reduced access to preventive health
services,” Makadon said. “A critical step in dealing with these disparities is
to educate providers on how to provide optimal care for LGBT people.”
Breakfast and lunch will be provided. To preregister and to see a full
agenda, visit cda.uams.edu. For more information call the UAMS Center for
Diversity Affairs office at (501) 686-7299 or Kim Blann at (501) 686-7358.
