PJCCMHA Advisory Board

The purpose of the PJCCMHA Advisory Board is to assist the center by determining annual issues and priorities base on community feedback. The members represent agencies involved in health and aging issues, in addition to those consumers who are interested. The PJCCMHA Advisory Board/MIMA Planning committee and the LUCE/ Paula J. Carter Center on Minority Health and Aging met quarterly to plan the 2004 Missouri Institute on Minority Aging, held May 18, 2004 on the campus of Lincoln University. The theme of the 2004 Institute was "Aging Well, Living Well." In the past the target population invited to participate in the Institute are professionals involved in aging and health, academicians, students and consumers. However, the 2004 Institute was consumer-directed and celebrated Older Americans Month by allowing seniors 60+ to attend at no cost. Over 100 consumers were encouraged to put into practice healthy behaviors that were discussed at the following workshops:

(1) Nutrition for Seniors - What is the Latest Information?,

(2) You can make a Difference in Your Diabetes Treatment - What are the Choices?,

(3) The Aging Mouth - A Catastrophic Situation!,

(4) Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act 2003,

(5) Disparity in Treating Chronic Pain in Minority and Elderly Populations, and

(6) The Values of Diverse Contributions of all Racial/Ethnic Groups. Resources on healthy lifestyle were disseminated by fifteen exhibitors and LUCE/ PJCCMHA.

Grants:

• PJCCMHA critiqued a training module on, "How to Live with Arthritis,"  to fit the needs of older adults and the minority population, also provided information on how to utilize the Lt. Gov. list-serve. 
• Arthritis Research and Evaluation Program Member on Task Force to exchange ideas to include minorities in all phases of managing arthritis.

Office of Women's Health

• The Paula J. Carter Center was involved with the Office of Women's Health Council in the development of a strategic plan entitled, "Setting a New Direction." The center also reviewed responses from a previous women's health meeting called, "Putting into Practice: What We Know about Health and Aging," to ascertain how attendees put into operations information they acquired at the meeting.
• Staff members attend quarterly meeting.
• Help develop strategic plan to include elderly and minorities in activities.

National Cancer Foundation

• Staff members talk with Regional Director of Cancer Society about working together on projects to assist minority women in practicing what is known about prevention and management.
• PJCCMHA established a relationship between the national and local cancer officials. The Center received a small stipend from the federal office to assist with funding the 2004 Missouri Institute on Minority Aging. The foundation also provided per e-mail, health literature regarding cancer issues and concerns relative to older and minority populations.

Center for Health Policy - University of Missouri - Columbia

• Discussed with the Chair of the Committee - a proposal seeking funds to develop a project on health insurance accessibility, affordability and acceptability for the minority population.
• Health Policy Summit prepared for the legislators recommendations based on the aforementioned above concerns.

Lt. Governor's Office - Aging Advocate

• PJCCMHA members continue to work with the Lt. Governor's Office as advocates on minorities and underserved populations.
• We are part of the Lt. Governor's e-mail list-serve operations.

University of Missouri - Columbia / Department of Health Psychology and Health Research: PJCCMHA is in the discussion stages of working together to identify interested minority students on "How to Develop Skills in Minority Health Research." The emphasis will be the anatomy of disparities.

The Missouri Health Consortium (Missouri's Show Me Healthy Women Program):Information was provided to the center on the latest legislative cancer improvements. This information was provided to our statewide network.

University of Missouri School of Health Professions: We provide information relative to the inclusion of older people and minorities in their training programs.