Minnesota State Mankato's Health & Biomedical Sciences Summit to Address Social Justice, Social Determinants of Health

Wednesday, March 24, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Virtual Event

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato will hold its third Health & Biomedical Sciences Summit from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, with this year’s topic being “Creating Health Equity: Social Justice & the Social Determinants of Health.”

This year’s summit, sponsored by Mayo Clinic Health System, will be held virtually and is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Register at https://ahn.mnsu.edu/2020-summit-social-determinants-of-health/registration/. Cost is $50 for those wishing to receive continuing education units for attending the conference.

The event begins March 24 with a keynote address from 8:30-9:30 a.m. by Yusef Salaam, who in 1989 was one of five Black and Latinx young men tried and convicted in the New York City “Central Park Jogger” case. Salaam’s website describes how the five men “spent between seven to 13 years behind bars for crimes they did not commit, until their sentences were overturned in 2002.” A PBS documentary film about the case was released in 2012.

After Salaam’s keynote address, a series of breakout sessions will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by on-demand sessions beginning at 1 p.m.

Among the topics of the breakout sessions are the following: “Isolation and Aging – Lessons Post Pandemic”; “Foster Care Reform: Improving Outcomes for Children, Families and Communities”; “Language Access & Planful Communication During Patient-Provider Interactions”; “Addressing the Pandemic within a Pandemic: New Issues and New Behavioral Health Strategies.”

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Media interested in more information should contact Brooke Burk, associate professor in Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services, at brooke.burk@mnsu.edu or by phone at 515-321-9369.)

Minnesota State Mankato’s colleges of Allied Health and Nursing and Social and Behavioral Sciences are hosts of the Health and Biomedical Sciences Summit.

Mayo Clinic Health System is the sponsor of the summit, which is intended to highlight the University’s distinctive academics, research and industry connections in health and biomedical sciences.

Mayo Clinic Health System consists of clinics, hospitals and other facilities that serve the health care needs of people in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,604 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.