YWCA Hosts 11th Annual Pink Ribbon Luncheon and Fashion Show

MEDIA ADVISORY


For Immediate Release:

October 4, 2010

CONTACT:
Laura Harwin
YWCA Greater Pittsburgh
412-255-1279

YWCA Hosts 11th Annual Pink Ribbon Luncheon & Fashion Show

Event Scheduled for Saturday, October 9

Who: YWCA Greater Pittsburgh

What: The YWCA Greater Pittsburgh’s 11th Annual Pink Ribbon Luncheon & Fashion Show will be held on Saturday, October 9, 2010, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Westin Hotel, 1000 Penn Avenue. This luncheon provides an educational and enjoyable day for attendees to learn more about breast health and wellness, and concludes with a fashion show featuring breast cancer survivors as models.

The event includes:

Keynote Speaker:

Marilyn Hughes Gaston, MD
Former Assistant Surgeon General and Director, Bureau of Primary Health Care,
US Public Health Service
Rear Admiral, USPHS, Ret.
Co-Director, The Gaston & Porter Health Improvement Center

Honorary Chair:

Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG
Assistant Professor and Director of Global Health
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Case Western University School of Medicine

Master of Ceremonies:

Rev. Dr. Loran E. Mann
Founder, Senior Pastor
Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ

Fashion Show:

Breast Cancer Survivors Modeling Hats by Chapeaux, Etc.

When: Saturday, October 9, 2010

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (10:30 a.m. registration)

Where: Westin Hotel, 1000 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

About the YWCA’s ENCOREplus Program

The mission of the YWCA’s ENCOREplus Program is to address and reduce the unequal burden of cancer among racial and ethnic minorities and the medically underserved women in the greater Pittsburgh area. For more information about ENCOREplus, please call 412-365-1915.

About the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh

The YWCA Greater Pittsburgh is a women’s membership movement committed to the elimination of racism and the economic empowerment of women and girls. For more information about the YWCA’s programs and services, please visit www.ywcapgh.org or call 412-391-5100.

About the Keynote Speaker

MARILYN HUGHES GASTON, MD
Former Assistant Surgeon General and Director, Bureau of Primary Health Care, US Public Health Service
Rear Admiral, USPHS, Ret.
Co-Director, The Gaston & Porter Health Improvement Center

Dr. Marilyn H. Gaston's professional career has been dedicated to improving the health of poor and minority families in our Nation and abroad. Her approach to accomplishing this goal has been through her direct delivery of quality primary health care; through the provision of medical education to young clinicians in training; involvement in clinical research; and through administration of local and Federal programs directed to services for the un- and underserved people of our country.

She is the first African American woman to direct a Public Health Service Bureau and only the second African American woman to achieve the position of Assistant Surgeon General and rank of Rear Admiral in the US Public Health Service. As Director of the Bureau of Primary Health Care in Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), she was responsible for a budget with the reach of $5 Billion serving 12 million poor, underserved and disadvantaged people in our Nation.

Prior to her appointment as Bureau Director, her work at the National Institutes of Health changed the management of children with sickle cell disease that has resulted in significantly decreasing the morbidity and mortality in young children here and around the world, for which she is internationally recognized.

She has been concerned about the continuing disparities in health outcomes and established some innovative programs to address them and also served as the medical director of the National Minority Health Month program.

Her awards are numerous and include all awards in the PHS, Marilyn Hughes Gaston Day in the cities of Cincinnati and Lincoln Heights, Ohio. In Cincinnati there is a Buford-Gaston building in her honor. Dr. Gaston is a member of the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Gaston received three Honorary Doctoral degrees - from the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth University and the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Gaston received the National Medical Association's Scroll of Merit, their highest honor and their Lifetime Achievement Award. The American Medical Association presented her with their prestigious Dr. Nathan Davis Award. The University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine has named a scholarship in her honor. Each year two underprivileged, and minority first year students receive full, four year medical school scholarships - "The Gaston Scholars." In addition, the College of Medicine recently honored her by giving her a Distinguished Alumnae Award. She is featured in the National Library of Medicine's exhibit, "Changing the Face of Medicine-Women Physicians."

For her work with African American women she has received three major national awards:
- The Johnson & Johnson Women’s Leadership Award
- The Purpose Prize given by Civic Ventures
- Recently she and her co-author were honored with an audience with President Obama for the difference they are making in the lives of African American women through their Prime Time Sister Circles®

Dr. Gaston is a much sought after speaker and a frequent keynote speaker on topics close to her heart: Women's Health, especially African American Women's Health, Elimination of Health Disparities, Improving Access to Health Care, Sickle Cell Disease.

She is featured regularly on radio and CBS & NBC television locally - and has appeared nationally on "The Larry King Show" and Black Entertainment Television.

She is the co-author of the book entitled: Prime Time: The African American Woman's Complete Guide to Midlife Health and Wellness published by Random House.

Dr. Gaston's dream for this Nation is 100% access to quality care and 0 disparities in health outcomes, especially for African American women.
###