Working Toward Our Goal 

Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health 

By Nathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH


Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health


Closing the Gap, Working Toward Our Goal • August 2003


I

t has been one year since more than 2,000 of you came to Washington, D.C., to take part in an historic event—the first National 

Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities 

in Health. 

We are undertaking a department-wide effort to address racial 

and ethnic disparities in health and have made the elimination of 

health disparities one of our top priorities 

We have many activities underway and more planned to help us 

reach our goal. The Leadership Summit was an important step, and I 

was happy to see so many people committed to ending health care 

disparities. These problems, however, cannot be solved simply by 

government. It will take the providers, the communities, the houses 

of worship—institutions and individuals across our society—working together to end disparities. 

Building on the momentum from last year’s conference, we continue to focus on six health concerns for communities of color today: 

infant mortality, cancer screening and management, heart disease and 

stroke, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and child and adult immunizations. We 

also focus on factors such as access to health care and quality of health 

care. To tackle disparities, we have developed strategies that will require your support, if they are to be successful. 

Shortly after last year’s conference, the Department, in partnership with the ABC Radio Networks, launched a national event—Take 

A Loved One to the Doctor Day—as a part of our Closing the Health 

Gap health education and information campaign for communities of 

color. 

The 2002 event was targeted primarily toward African Americans. 

More than 400 organizations, as well as elected officials and celebrities 

from across the nation, banded together to raise awareness of health 

disparities and encourage community action to get people to take a 

loved one to the doctor or another health professional. 

This year, our partnership continues, and the campaign is now 

expanded to include American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian 

Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific 

Islanders. So, this year on September 16th, you are encouraged to 

organize a health event, attend a health event in your community, or 

help a friend, neighbor, or family member to take charge of their 

health by visiting a doctor, nurse, dentist, physician assistant, or other 

health professional. That’s just one way you personally can help close 

the health gap. 

In March 2003, SecretaryThompson convened a national health 

summit to call on all Americans to take the steps that will lead to a 

healthier nation. The Steps to a HealthierUS: Putting Prevention First 

summit was attended by more than 1,000 community leaders, policy 

makers, health officials, and others. It laid out the Department’s priorities and programs for Steps to a HealthierUS, focusing attention on 

the importance of prevention and promising approaches for promoting healthy environments. 

The Department also launched a new adult immunization initiative—Racial and Ethnic Adult Disparities in Immunization Initiative (READII)—to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in influenza 

and pneumococcal vaccination coverage for adults 65 years of age and 

older, focusing on African American and Hispanic communities. 

In addition to our partnerships and prevention initiatives, HHS 

is putting additional resources into direct patient care. President Bush 

asked the Department to increase the number of community health 

centers across the country to reach individuals who lack access to 

quality medical care. As a result, HHS is expanding the current nationwide network of more than 3,300 health center sites that serve 

some 11 million low-income people, a large proportion of whom are 

from communities of color. 

Many of the innovative ideas shared during the Leadership Summit and Steps to a HealthierUS are being implemented or supported 

by the Department. 

Yet, to solve the crisis of health disparities, we need to continue to 

work collectively and think outside of the box. Each of us must work 

in our own communities to come up with real solutions to eliminate 

health disparities. It starts in our own homes with our own families 

and with a renewed sense of personal responsibility. 

As promised, this expanded issue of Closing the Gap is the second 

and final part of our reporting on last year’s Leadership Summit. I 

hope that you will find ideas in this issue that will stimulate further 

thinking and help advance your work on health disparities. 

We at the Department of Health and Human Services will do our 

part to provide individuals, families, and communities with the resources they need to eliminate health disparities. Let me assure you we 

are committed to this effort and to undertaking the actions necessary 

to reach our goal. 

Good health to all! 

Nathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health 

Office of Minority Health Resource Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services