Claude A. Allen

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Claude A. Allen, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will provide a special keynote address at the fifth annual Rural Health Conference April 28-30 at the Bryant Conference Center on The University of Alabama Campus.

Allen will speak on Wednesday, April 28 at 11 a.m. in Sellers Auditorium. Allen's address is free and open to the public, but those interested in attending the entire conference are encouraged to register for the event.

Other featured conference speakers include: Dr. Claudia Baquet, an associate dean at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a leading national expert on cancer in minority and low-income populations, and Dr. Donald E. Williamson, state health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

As in past years, this year’s conference, “Working Together Today for a Healthier Tomorrow,” will bring together voices from rural communities, as well as professionals from a number of fields who have an interest in rural health. Healthcare professionals, community leaders, government officials, academic researchers and representatives of faith-based organizations are expected to attend and together address the health care needs of rural communities and citizens and their impact on the state.

Two pre-conference workshops will be held on April 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Bryant Conference Center. They will focus on grant writing for community-based organizations and faith-based initiatives. The conference will be held April 29-30.

UA’s Rural Health Conference is hosted by The University of Alabama Institute for Rural Health Research, the College of Community Health Sciences and the Alabama Public Health Association Inc. The conference is supported in part by a grant to the Institute for Rural Health Research from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Much of the research conducted by the Institute focuses on Alabama’s Black Belt region, where people die at higher rates than other Alabamians from cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The Institute is housed within the College of Community Health Sciences, which is the Tuscaloosa branch of The University of Alabama School of Medicine.

For more information and to register, call 205/348-0025. Conference registration is $75. Registration for each pre-conference workshop is also $75. Updated conference information and an agenda are posted on the conference Web site: www.rhc.ua.edu.