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Remarks as prepared; not a transcript. Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H, FACS Thank you for that kind introduction, Mike. [Michael Mahsetky, Director of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Indian Health Service.] I also want to thank IHS for inviting me to this opening ceremony of American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month. This month honors not only accomplishments, but also the spirit, diversity, and culture of our great nation. I learned about the importance of culture as a child - not from professionals but from my grandmother, who came to this country in the 1930s when she had 27 children, with no money, because she saw opportunity. My abuelita spoke no English when she arrived in New York. Although very poor and living on the margins of society for many years, as was the whole family, she lived with a great deal of dignity. At 6 years old, she took my family into her small tenement apartment because we were homeless and had no place to go. But even though it was small, and it sure was crowded, she had so much pride and kept it so clean and nice, that when you stepped through the doorway of that little apartment, you felt like you were in a mansion. In Abuelita's home, there was dignity, there was love, there was caring. There was also an understanding of how we all need to live together in this world and celebrate each other. She was the one who told me, "You need to get an education because the education will set you free." My grandmother was about 95 pounds soaking wet, but to this day, probably the strongest woman of character that I have ever met, because of the values she held so dear - and the love she held for her culture. The lessons she taught me about culture, and about diversity are ones that I draw on every single day now as Surgeon General. I know what it's like to be on the fringes of society, to be someone who people were willing to forget and leave alone. But Abuelita wasn't one of them - she believed in me and had great hopes for me. The path I took to becoming Surgeon General had many bends and turns. After dropping out of high school I became a Special Forces medic, then a registered nurse, paramedic, police officer, trauma surgeon, and now Surgeon General. All along the way, I have been blessed with opportunity. And every one of those experiences impacts on my job today as the Surgeon General, but no more or no less than the lessons about culture and diversity that I learned from Abuelita. This month, and throughout the year, as we celebrate American Indian and Alaska Native culture, I invite you to think creatively about how we can best use culture and heritage to encourage healthy choices, and better communicate health information. Through the hard work of RADM Chuck Grim and his colleagues, we are responding to Secretary Thompson's charge to make the Department more accessible to American Indians and Alaska Natives. We see the need all over Indian Country. Today, American Indians continue to experience high rates of illness and injury.
To eliminate these health disparities, we must improve health literacy. Health literacy is the ability of an individual to access, understand, and use health-related information and services to make appropriate health decisions. Right now low health literacy is a problem throughout our nation. Even the seemingly simple things that we can all do to stay healthy and safe, such as getting regular medical check-ups and eating healthy foods, can be struggles for many families. The reality is that to be able to do these things, we must have a basic infrastructure and understanding of why these choices are important to our health and safety, as well as our family's health and safety. Each time that we take health information, and package it in a culturally competent manner we are making a positive difference. By administering our health messages in ways that people can understand, individuals can change any poor health behavior, reduce morbidity and mortality, and improve their health and well-being. And embedded in our family traditions and our cultural heritage are powerful messages that can help people understand complex health messages. But sometimes tradition gives us bad advice, and coupled with a lack of health information it's easy for us to make unhealthy choices. It certainly happened in my home growing up. Abuelita always had a can of lard at the back of the fridge that she used in preparing every meal. Were Abuelita's meals delicious? Sure. Were they healthy? That's another question. And how many American Indians and Alaska Natives will tell you that the first time they used alcohol or smoked a cigarette was with an adult family member? Do the adults do this to hurt the next generation? Of course not. The problem is not a lack of love or a lack of caring, but a lack of health information, and a lack of health literacy. The challenge for us at HHS is to apply cultural traditions in ways that promote healthy choices. As we launch this month of celebration, let's look ever more to the future. Let's explore together how taking advantage of our diversity, how embracing our native cultures can help people take action to make themselves healthier. Thank you so much for all you're doing to improve the health and health literacy of all the people of our great nation. ### Last revised: January 9, 2007 |
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