LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

January 2008

Dear Prospective Member:

It is an exciting time for us all with the upcoming elections. There has been much discussion about issues that are importance to the Association of Clinician for the Underserved (ACU) like those surrounding health care, education, working with communities, and working towards positive change. We urge you to join and/or renew during this critical time! We want to continue to be a voice for the underserved to move candidates to address issues that are affecting us all at the frontlines.

As a member, you will enjoy many benefits, including our annual ACU Advocacy Calendar and a subscription to The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved .The Journal is an official publication of the Meharry Medical College and is published quarterly in cooperation with ACU by the Johns Hopkins University Press. This AMA award-winning, peer-reviewed quarterly publication focuses on issues such as:
- programs that work at the community level
- access to care
- culturally sensitive care, and
- health policy recommendations.

The ACU leadership will contribute to each issue of the Journal. We look forward to working with our membership to make this publication responsive to our professional needs and public policy interests.

ACU addresses the key issues of access to a continuum of health care, evidence-based practice research, workforce diversity, and the elimination of health disparities. ACU supports a transdisciplinary model of care and will work over the coming year to best define this model and how it will benefit underserved communities.

Consider joining ACU's Advocacy Committee to participate in the steps we can take together to continue to advocate for the underserved. Our goals should be "to secure high quality, patient-centered, culturally appropriate health care for our patients, our families, our friends, and ourselves."

To learn about ACU's other programs and activities, we encourage you to browse our website.   You will find information on the Pediatric Asthma Trigger Management, Early Childhood Caries Prevention, Access to Pharmaceuticals for low income and uninsured people, professional wellness, health literacy, and many other topics. I also invite you to visit the website of our clinic and organizational membership found in this member section.

We look forward to welcoming you to ACU this year.

Sincerely,

Sandra Leal, Pharm D, CDE

President