Raise the Roof: National Women's Speak Out for Action on Health Reform

By Christine Cupaiuolo — March 30, 2009

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Raising Women’s Voices is hosting a National Women’s Speak Out for Action on Health Reform this week at the Interchurch Center in New York City.

Below is a summary of the events:

April 1: A National Women’s Speakout for Action on Health Reform, moderated by NBC News Medical Editor Nancy Synderman, M.D. Grassroots women will share their personal stories about how America’s health system is failing them and their families. Health policy experts will engage with participants to link these stories to needed policy reforms and compile an action agenda for change.

Prior to the evening speakout, afternoon workshops will explain how personal stories from the grassroots can help inform and drive health policy change. Participants will learn how to sponsor their own community speakouts for health reform around the country.

April 2: A Strategy Conference will move from women’s stories about the health system to strategy about how to achieve real reforms that address the problems women have identified. National health policy experts will give an update on the progress of health reform in Washington and help participants identify key opportunities for collective action in the months ahead. We will end the day with an agenda for action. (Conference from 9 am to 3 pm)

The evening speakout on Wednesday is free, so if you’re in New York, at least head to that portion so you can have your say. The conference is $60 per day or $110 for both the workshop and the strategy sessions.

OBOS Executive Director Judy Norsigian is moderating a strategy discussion on Thursday that will address the question: How do we go about making women’s health concerns a top priority in Washington and state capitals? Speakers for this panel include:

  • Margarida Jorge, National Field Director, Heath Care for America Now!
  • Wendy Chavkin, Prof. at Columbia University School of Public Health
  • Silvia Henriquez, Executive Director of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
  • Loretta Ross, Executive Director, SisterSong Collective
  • Elisabeth Benjamin, Health Policy Director, Community Service Society / Health Care  for All NY

Other conference participants include:

  • Byllye Avery, President, Avery Institute for Social Change
  • Lynn Paltrow, Director, National Advocates for Pregnant Women
  • Cindy Pearson, Director, National Women’s Health Network
  • Deborah Reid, Attorney with the National Health Law Program
  • Lois Uttley, Director, the MergerWatch Project of Community Catalyst
  • Susan Wood (former FDA Director of Women’s Health), now Director of the Jacobs Institute for Women’s Health at George Washington University

And many more …

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