Bastyr University Celebrates 5th Year of the Center for Social Justice and Diversity With Healthy Equity Speaker Series

KENMORE, Wash., Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Center for Social Justice and Diversity (CSJD) at Bastyr University celebrates its fifth year this Fall Quarter! The Center, together with the Bastyr's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is beginning a Health Equity Speaker Series that will include presenters from varying disciplines. The event will commence on October 23rd in a conversation centered around, "What is Health? The Need for Health Equity." The inaugural guest speakers include Daniel K. Church, PhD, Bastyr University President Emeritus, and Maxine Hayes, MD, MPH, FAAP, former Washington State Health Officer. The event is free and open to the public.

Health Equity is the concept that everyone deserves and should have a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential. Equal access to health care remains a key barrier to providing quality care to all patients. Bastyr's speaker series will highlight the differences in access to preventative and curative health care for diverse populations and will focus on solutions that create opportunities for health equity in the U.S. as well as globally.

"We are excited to kick off our Health Equity Speaker Series with Dr. Church and Dr. Hayes, two renowned experts in the fields of health care," said Center for Social Justice and Diversity Director, Daniel Rosen, PhD. "Equal access to quality care is one of the most critical issues facing the health care community."

The speaker series is part of the CSJD Student Leadership Certificate Program, thus is spearheaded by a two-person student team. Naturopathic medical resident Dr. Gena Poling (MPH '18, ND '19), and naturopathic medical student Paula Mitchell have co-led this project from the moment of inception. "We are excited to be making this happen and we hope to have as many people in attendance as possible," says Mitchell. "Our hope is that through this series, more people will better understand and think more critically about this issue."

Bastyr's Center for Social Justice and Diversity was established in 2014 and was named after President Emeritus Dr. Daniel K. Church upon his retirement from the University in June of 2015. Among numerous programs, the Center offers training in restorative practices, a Student Leadership Certificate Program, the CSJD Research Lab, and the Michelle Eustache Human Library Project. The Center also hosts weekly Real Talk Community Circles around pertinent social justice concepts and monthly dialogue groups for students of color, students who identify as LGBTQIA, and those interested in challenging white privilege. Additional events, such as visits from student groups, guest speakers and celebrations are scheduled throughout the year.

CEUs for the Health Equity Speaker Series will be available for NDs, MDs and LMHCs licensed in Washington State for a processing fee of $20. Registration for CEUs will be available onsite.

About Dr. Daniel K. Church
Daniel K. Church, PhD, President Emeritus of Bastyr University, served as University President from 2005 to 2015. He has been a longstanding and committed advocate of Bastyr's vision to transform the health of the human community. During his tenure as president, Bastyr experienced significant growth as a university, including increased student enrollment, increased revenues and cash reserves, the creation of a new campus in San Diego, expansion and relocation of the Bastyr Center for Natural Health, construction of the LEED platinum-certified student housing buildings, and the addition of eight new academic degree programs. Dr. Church considered it a priority for all Bastyr graduates to be culturally responsible practitioners and professionals, and thus created the Center for Social Justice and Diversity (CSJD) in 2014. The University named the Center in his honor in 2015. The Center celebrates five years of service this year.

About Dr. Maxine Hayes
Maxine Hayes, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a lifelong advocate of population health and disease prevention. She served the Washington State Department of Health for 25 years, holding the governor-appointed post of State Health Officer from 2000 until her retirement in 2014. In this role as the State's "top doctor," she was the senior adviser and chief spokesperson on medical and public health issues for Washington State, advancing health equity throughout the State. She came to the Northwest in 1985 as the medical director of Seattle Children's Hospital's Odessa Brown Children's Clinic in the Central District of Seattle. She has received many awards and honors for her work in maternal and child health and continues her role as Clinical Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington with faculty appointments in the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. Dr. Hayes is the 2010 recipient of the Bastyr University Mission Award and formerly served on the Bastyr University Board of Trustees.

About Bastyr
Bastyr University is a nonprofit, private university offering graduate and undergraduate degrees, with a multidisciplinary curriculum in science-based natural medicine. Recognized globally for its rigorous curriculum and strong research, the University has a primary campus in Kenmore, Washington, and a second campus in San Diego, California. Bastyr's international faculty teaches the natural health sciences with an emphasis on integrating mind, body, spirit and nature. A pioneer in natural medicine since its inception 40 years ago, Bastyr continues to be at the forefront in developing the model for 21st-century medicine

For more information please visit: http://www.bastyr.edu/
EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information about Bastyr and to arrange to speak with a university spokesperson, please contact Nancy Trent or Pamela Wadler at 212-966-0024 or [email protected].

SOURCE Bastyr University