ANN ARBOR—Associate Prof. Antonia Villarruel and director of the Center for Health Promotion at the University of Michigan’s School of Nursing, is now serving on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Minority Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Newly appointed members to the committee along with the chair of the committee, former Congressman Louis Stokes, met recently to talk about improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations, and how to eliminate biases and disparities in health care.

The committee, created by the Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998, is composed of 12 committee members and will meet four times a year. The committee includes three members each from the Black/African-American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino communities.

Villarruel is one of two Latino professors selected for the committee and is the only nurse represented. She was nominated by several nursing and Latino organizations. She says, “It’s an honor and responsibility to be a part of this committee. I hope we are the mouthpiece for the communities that we serve and hopefully we’ll meet out of Washington to hear directly from the communities about their concerns that affect their health and well-being.”

The Department of Health and Human Services is two years into its effort to address minority health through the president’s plan to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities by the year 2010, with a focus on six areas: infant mortality, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer screening and management, HIV/AIDS, and childhood and adult immunizations.

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Associate Prof.Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998