Schakowsky release.....

HEALTH CARE REFORM ROUNDTABLE PRECEDES DEBATE IN DC
Experts & Policy Makers in Health Care Discuss Reform at Northwestern University
CHICAGO, IL (April 13, 2009) - The first in a national series of health care roundtables will take place tomorrow in Chicago. Congress will soon begin work on health care reform but Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, has a plan to start the discussion in the "Windy City" before legislation begins to take shape in our nation's capitol.

Rep. Schakowsky will host a public forum with world renowned and local experts at Northwestern University focused on the unique health care needs of women and the important changes that must be made to the current system. This forum will merge the public health community with activists and academics to propose a health care agenda that includes the needs of women. Their ideas and those of the audience will be considered as Congress begins the monumental task of reforming the American health care system.

WHAT: Women's Health Care Reform Roundtable

WHEN: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 @ 3:00 - 5:00pm CST

WHERE: Institute for Women's Health Research at Northwestern University
Lurie Medical Research Building - Baldwin Auditorium (first floor)
303 E. Superior Ave.; Chicago, Illinois

WHO: Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Illinois 9th Congressional District
Susan Wood, Director, Jacobs Institute of Women's Health, George Washington University (Fmr Asst. Commissioner for Women's Health at the FDA)
Larry Jameson , Dean of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine
Pam Sutherland, Illinois Planned Parenthood
Maria Pesqueira, President and CEO, Mujeres Latinas En Accion
Stacie Geller, Ph.D., Director of the UIC National Center of Excellence in Women's Health

Women consume more health care than men, are more likely to make health care decisions for their family. Women also face serious obstacles in finding comprehensive, affordable health care - as individuals and as small business women. The roundtable is designed to provide an exchange of ideas between a cross-section of women, including those in the health care community and policy makers in Washington.

###