MEDICAL EXCHANGES

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Medical Conference "Thalassemia: A Responsibility of All Medical Disciplines"
Washington, D.C. 1990

Funded by:

In 1986, the NIAF Medical Council, in conjunction with the Cooley's Anemia Foundation, co sponsored a conference in Washington, D.C. on Thalassemia. Thalassemia is a form of anemia which was once thought to affect only those of Mediterranean ancestry, but has since been found in some thirty countries. Experts on the disease from Italy and the U.S., included Dr. Antonio Cao of Rome and Dr. Carlo Valenti of Sardegna, participated in the conference. The screening and occurrence of Thalassemia with the Mediterranean population was discussed along with current research.

Washington, D.C.
Medical/Legal Council

Funded by:

A salient program of NIAF was conducted by the Medical/Legal Council on a yearly basis during the NIAF Gala. Dr. Maria Lombardo coordinated with Georgetown University and other schools for doctors and lawyers to received CME and CLE credits for participating in the events held during NIAF's Gala Dinner. One of the outstanding events included Health Care Reform, A Mini White House Conference on Aging. Dr. Maria Lombardo sought and was able to obtain outside funding to conduct the conferences on a yearly basis. The topics selected benefitted the Italian American community with information about options regarding caretakers, wills and resources for the elderly. Dr. Lombardo worked with the National Institutes of Health, the Italian American Bar Association, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals and the White House to organize the events.

 

Medical/Legal Conferences

Washington, D.C. 1999
Medical Conference "The Right to Die"

Funded by:

This seminar explored how decisions affecting life's end impact upon the medical and legal professions. The seminar discussed living wills, durable powers of attorney, the Patient Self Determination Act of 1991, and the Model Death with Dignity Act. The program examined these issues by positing case histories, which the panelists discussed from a moral, ethical, and legal standpoint. There was an examination of the Italian-American family's role in the decision making process of a family member's death. A question and answer session followed the panelists. The speakers included: Tom Beauchamp, Senior Research Scholar, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, Ethic's Director at Georgetown University Center for Advanced Studies, Dr. Elliott Perlin, Professor of Medicine at Howard University Hospital, Dr. Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director for Policy Development for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and Dr. Greg Bloche, a physician/lawyer and a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Paul Anthony was the Moderator.

 

Washington, D.C. 1995
Conference: "Life's Journey: Will Your Mind Go The Distance"

Funded by:

The symposium focused on medical/legal issues in the long term health care of Alzheimer's Disease. Case studies of Alzheimer's patients were presented and discussed. Cultural differences of the Italian family as caretakers were noted. Ira Magaziner of the White House was the keynote speaker at the Alzheimer's conference.

Washington, D.C. 1994
Conference: Health Care Reform

Funded by:

A comparison of the Italian and United States Health Care Systems was made with focus on the aging population. The "U.S. Health Care Reform" conference was sanctioned as a Mini White House Conference on Aging. The NIAF conference was funded and co-sponsored by the Sigma Tau Pharmaceuticals Foundation, with collaboration from the White House and the National Institutes of Health. Giancarlo Schettino, former Director of Public Relations for Sigma Tau, said in his introduction to the 1994 "U.S. Health Care Reform" conference that health care reform is "undoubtedly the most urgent social problem facing the U.S."

The conference was open to the public and discussed not only U.S. health care reform but also health care systems of other countries. Dr. Antonia Novello, former U.S. Surgeon General, said health care reform should be a priority if we are to move forward as a nation.

In the second half of the conference, White House Senior Policy Advisor Walter Zelman addressed the White House's position on health care reform. After responding to numerous audience questions, he stated: "We may not have won the battle, but we'll win the war."