VSU hosts health symposium

Published 11:00 am Thursday, September 7, 2017

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University’s Department of Communication Arts will host the Symposium on Socio-Cultural Issues in Health Care for Health-Care Practitioners.

The event is scheduled for 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in the University Center Magnolia Room, according to a university press release. The event is free of charge and open to students and faculty in the fields of nursing, health-care administration, sociology and social work, as well as health-care practitioners working in South Georgia.

The symposium will explore how personal identities — age, sex, race, education, etc. — and other socio-cultural variables — power, resources, public policy, etc. — interact and impact health-care delivery, according to the university.

Participants will have an opportunity to network and share their personal stories of triumphs, challenges and failures from the health-care field, according to organizers.

Dr. Samuel S. Mortoti, a cardiologist on the front lines of specialized care, is scheduled as the keynote speaker. He will touch on a wide range of issues, including health and religion, health delivery in rural America, diversity in American health care and health care’s socio-cultural challenges and opportunities.

“Dr. Mortoti’s experiences provide a unique opportunity for attendees to learn firsthand about the complex dynamics of socio-cultural issues from the caregiver’s perspective,” said Dr. Prosper Yao Tsikata, assistant professor of communication at VSU and symposium coordinator.

“As students ready themselves to join the caregiver vocation, it is important that they are exposed to some of the veiled aspects of socio-cultural issues that impinge on the caregiver and care-receiver dynamics in the health-delivery process.”

Mortoti is certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine, National Board of Echocardiography and the Board of Nuclear Cardiology. He received his medical education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, where he practiced for a few years before moving to Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., for both his residency and fellowship. He is currently licensed in Arkansas and Washington, D.C., and is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, according to the press release.

Anyone interested in securing a spot at the symposium should email name, job title, and employer/school to Dr. Prosper Yao Tsikata at pytsikata@valdosta.edu. The registration deadline for attendees outside VSU is Sept. 8. The deadline for VSU students, faculty, and practitioners is Sept. 12.