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Columbus Black Physician Directory
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| Bernadette
Anderson, MD Wendy Anderson, MD Kevin Banks, MD R. Earl Bartley, MD Charmaine Blair, MD Christopher Brown, MD George Calloway, MD Eric Chandler, MD Quinn Capers, IV, MD Michelle Chambers, MD Arthur Neil Cole, MD Boyd Curtis, MD Labronz Davis, MD Dawn Hackshaw, MD Kevin Hackshaw, MD Randall Henderson, MD William Hicks, MD Dorothy Jones, MD Sheree Jones, MD Myshelka Lamelle, MD Gina Love-Walker, MD Leon McDougle, MD Gladstone McDowell, MD Dana Moulton, MD Sherri Morgan, MD
John
Moyler DPM
Ernest
Newkirk MD
Gina
Nichols MD
Charles
Noble MD
Kwame Osei MD
Ngozi
Osuagwu-Bosah MD
Augustus
Parker III MD
Alvin Pelt
MD
Robert
Polite MD
John
Ratliff DO
Deidre
Redd MD
Cherie
Richey MD
William
Roberts MD
Richard
Roy MD
Nathaniel
Russell MD
Reuben
Sheares III MD
Cassandra
Suggs MD
Rene
Taylor MD
Delois
Teague MD
Olivia
Thomas MD
Tamara J.
Thompson MD
Mark Thurman MD
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African-American doctors seek to close
health gap
By Felix Hoover
For Your News Columbus
Sept. 30, 2010
The general public would have benefited from
much of the information presented at a recent meeting of
African-American physicians, such as how to choose hospitals, primary
care physicians and specialists.
Much of the discussion dealt with
disparities in health care that negatively impact African-Americans and
how to narrow that gap.
Asking questions and doing homework are
important steps in pursuing health care, but it’s also essential to
establish a working relationship with a primary care physician, said Dr.
Quinn Capers IV, featured speaker
“It’s really critical for patients or
individuals to take control of their health and really to partner with
their doctors,” said Capers, director of peripheral vascular
interventions in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio
State University.
“Of course, in order to partner with your
doctor, you have to have one,” he said.
Capers said he loves it when patients come
into the office with intellectual curiosity and ask questions about
medicines, procedures, options and the like.
Dr. George Barnett, secretary/treasurer of
the chapter, said that specialists need to establish rapport with
primary care physicians if they want referrals.
Medical specialists often cringe when
they’re ready to release patients to a primary-care physician only to
learn they have none, several of the doctors said. Data indicate that
patients without a primary physician are much less apt to take
medications as prescribed and are less likely to follow other
post-operation instructions. As such, they often negate the benefit of
certain medical procedures.
During the meeting, which was held at the
River Club, members were introduced to Dr. Robert Higgins, director of
the Comprehensive Transplant Center at OSU Medical Center.
Several of the doctors weighed in on the
various reasons for the gross disparities in the health status of
African-Americans and other minorities in comparison to whites.
Higgins said it’s important for
African-Americans not only to be aware of the disparities, but also to
do their best to educate themselves about health matters and to take
care of themselves.
He suggested that opinions differ about how
racism factors into disparate outcomes, but his view is that
African-Americans need to rally behind one another to effect needed
changes in the health system.
“Even though in many ways we are not
responsible for the problem, we can be accountable for the solution,”
Higgins said.
Dr. Augustus G. Parker III, president of the
Columbus Board of Health, noted that proportionately fewer
African-Americans received flu vaccinations last year than whites. City
officials are continuing a promotional campaign “Only You Can Prevent
the Flu” to encourage greater participation in the immunization program
this season.
Parker also introduced
Your News Columbus’s directory of
African-American doctors, which is designed as a resource for doctors,
patients, medical teams, hospitals, insurers and others whose mission
focuses on health among minorities and the community at large.
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