The 2016 Annual WKMO Forum was held in
Washington, D.C. on June 9-10th at the Rayburn House Office Building. The venue
chosen for this year’s forum was significant for two reasons. First, the
Rayburn House Office Building is one of the three congressional office
buildings for the U.S. House of Representatives. Second, and more importantly,
it was where the Asian-Pacific American Heritage week was established to
celebrate the achievements and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander
Americans to U.S. history and culture. Later, in 1992, Congress extended the
time frame of the week and officially designated the month of May as Asian
American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
WKMO visited this historical site for Asian
and Pacific Islander Americans with Asian American Representatives Mike Honda
(from California) and Charles Rangel (from New York). Representative Honda and
Representative Rangel shared their views and ideas about the global health
industry and were also honored for their achievements.
The title of the 2016 Annual WKMO Forum was
the “Symposium on Global Health Disparities.” The goal of the forum was to
spread greater awareness about the various healthcare inequities that the world
sees today and to identify the various ways through which physicians can
collaborate to improve these inequities and therefore global health.
One example of a source of numerous health
disparities that was addressed was the North Korean healthcare system. Forum
participants discussed policies and initiatives intended to provide humanitarian
assistance, combat health inequity, and improve the quality of healthcare in
North Korea. Although North Korea has continued to be a hostile nation, the
healthcare industry has been able to establish several channels that facilitate
cooperative communication and interaction. Dr. Hee Young Shin of Seoul National
University College of Medicine delivered a presentation titled “R&D for
Health Care Initiatives for North Korea”. Dr. Shin, who currently presides over
the Institute for Medical Cooperation between North and South Korea, spoke of
her institution’s plans for the integration of healthcare. Dr. David Roh, dean
of the only international medical school in North Korea (PUST DMS), shared his
perspectives on “Engaging North Korea through Medical Education.” The school
offers medical education in English and provides unprecedented and continuous
long-term healthcare access to its students in North Korea.
Another issue that was discussed was the
prevalence of Hepatitis in the Asian community. This discussion was led by Dr.
Chul Hyun, Dr. James Lewis, and Dr. Winston Wong. Health disparities in
Australia and Canada were also addressed by Dr. Yoon Kyo An from Brisbane and
Dr. Tae Kyoung Kim from Toronto. Furthermore, the potential role of
telemedicine in combating global health disparities was examined by Dr. Joseph
McMenamin.
The 2016 Annual WKMO Forum was successful in
stimulating the discussion of global health disparities, a topic that is
extremely pertinent and important to the diverse community of healthcare
professionals and leaders who attended the forum. WKMO hopes there will be as
much progress next year when it holds its 2017 Annual WKMO Forum.