Satcher: Bridge health gap now
By Lawrence Hardy
He’s called the surgeon general of the United States. And while some appointees do not take that title literally, David Satcher did.
“We are told that we are the nation’s doctor,” Satcher said Sunday at his Focus on Education lecture. “I actually believed it.”
So in 1999, one year after his appointment by President Clinton, Satcher issued his 16th Surgeon General’s RX. Please take as directed.
The prescription covered issues from obesity to substance abuse, tobacco use, and sexual behavior. This may seem common sense now, but as Satcher noted, knowing what contributes to good health and acting on it are not the same thing.
“It really is time for us to bridge the gap between what we know and what we do,” Satcher said. “That’s important for all of us, and for you as school board members.”
In 2002, Satcher convened a summit in Washington, D.C., that led to the formation of Action for Healthy Kids. With more than 50 national organizations involved in all 50 states, the group aims to improve children’s nutrition.
Today, 13 percent of children ages six to 11 -- and 14 percent of those ages 12 to 19 -- are overweight.
Satcher now is director of The Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga., where he is also a professor of mental health. He said that despite the high incidence of obesity and sexually transmitted diseases, America has made progress in many areas of children’s health.
Board members are ideally positioned to influence student health by making sound health policies and working with schools to ensure those policies are carried out, Satcher said.
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