FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cindy Deppe, media relations, 641-269-4834

October 15, 2007

GRINNELL COLLEGE TO HOLD PRE-CAUCUS HEALTHCARE SYMPOSIUM

Why important: The Grinnell symposium offers informed viewpoints on national healthcare issues as Iowa voters consider presidential candidates' healthcare reform proposals in the months prior to the January caucuses.

Grinnell College will host a three-day public symposium on "Healthcare Reform in the U.S.: Can Government Meet the Challenge?" Oct. 29-Nov. 1, involving speakers from across the healthcare delivery system.

"With healthcare near the top of voters' concerns, we felt it important to offer informed perspectives from experts inside and outside the health professions," said Wayne Moyer, director of Grinnell's Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs and symposium organizer. "This is an excellent opportunity for attendees to prepare to assess the presidential candidates' healthcare proposals." All events are open to the public and will be held in the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, Room 101, located at 1115 8th Ave. on the Grinnell College campus, unless otherwise noted.

The schedule of events for the healthcare symposium includes:

Oct. 29, 8 p.m., South Lounge, College Forum: Carmela Coyle, senior vice president for policy at the American Hospital Association, will discuss "Health for Life . . . Better Health, Better Healthcare," and the association's policy positions for healthcare reform.

Oct. 30, 4:15 p.m.: "Our Unsystematic Health Care System" will be the topic of a presentation by Grace Budrys, professor of sociology at DePaul University, Chicago, who will provide an overview of healthcare in America. Budrys has written widely about health disparities and healthcare management.

Oct. 30, 8 p.m.: Dr. Joseph Fins, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College, will offer perspectives on "Traumatic Brain Injury: Health Care Challenges from Iraq to Iowa." Fins has published and lectured widely in the U.S., Europe, and Latin American about medical ethics and health policy.

Oct. 31, noon: Henry Aaron of The Brookings Institution will discuss "National Health Care Reform: Inevitable But When?" with viewpoints on healthcare cost, rationing, and financing. Aaron, who is a senior fellow and economist at Brookings, served as assistant secretary at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the late '70s.

Oct. 31, 4:15 p.m.: Alan Cohen, a 1971 Grinnell graduate and senior budget advisor for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, will present perspectives on Medicare and Medicaid in his talk, "The Effect of the Growth Rate of Health Care Costs on Long-Run Federal Budget Deficits."

Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m., Harris Center Cinema: A free screening of "Sicko," the Michael Moore film about the U.S. healthcare system, will be followed by a panel discussion, led by Todd Linden, president and CEO of Grinnell Regional Medical Center and Grinnell College trustee. Panelists will include local physicians Dr. J.R. Paulson and Dr. Andrew Broadmoore; and Grinnell faculty members Larry Aspler, Claire Moisan, and Philippe Moisan.

Nov. 1, 11 a.m.: Daniel Callahan, director of international programs at The Hastings Center, will present the Scholar's Convocation on "The American Health Care Debate: Government vs. the Market." Callahan, who is a senior fellow of both Harvard Medical School and Yale University, is the author of "Medicine and the Market: Equity vs. Choice."

Nov. 1, 4:15 p.m.: A panel on healthcare reform, complementary medicine, and stress reduction will be led by Bruce Cryer and Rollin McCraty of Heartmath LLC, and Sita Ananth, Health Forum/American Hospital Association.

Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.: A panel of Grinnell College alumni who currently work in healthcare fields across the country will wrap up the symposium. Alumni panelists include: John Canady, plastic surgeon at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics; Kendra Young, Johns Hopkins Medical School; Joe Hart, assistant professor of surgery, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY; Paul London, president, London and Associates management consulting, Wilmette, IL; Pixie Plummer, staff physician, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA; and moderator Marilyn Musser, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Twelve percent of Grinnell alumni from classes 1970-2000 obtained higher degrees in medicine and healthcare professions. Grinnell also ranks high nationally in the number of biological scientist graduates (9th nationally) for an institution of its size.

The Healthcare Reform Symposium is co-sponsored by Grinnell College's Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights (http://www.grinnell.edu/rosenfield/). For additional information, contact Wayne Moyer, director of the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, 641-269-3176, moyer@grinnell.edu. For a campus map, go to http://www.grinnell.edu/aboutinfo/map/

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