The need to marry socioeconomics, public health, and medical care is long overdue

I was recently invited to speak at a conference in what is likely the nicest hotel I have ever set foot in. Partially hidden by an array of palm trees and adjacent to a golf course, I could easily see why the conference rate was $350 per night. Before making my way to the conference room, I paused in the dining area to go over my slides one last time and work on the timing of a few quips: “This is my first time in Scottsdale, and I have to say that this hotel is pretty much what comes to mind when I think of the Garden of Eden, only it’s the price that makes the fruit forbidden.” As I looked to my left in the dining room, I saw a man in his mid-40’s with a svelte wife and two healthy-appearing children under the age of ten wearing clothes worth more than my suit. For our purposes, I will call the man Will and the children Catherine and Graham. The family enjoyed a nutritious breakfast complete with fruit and vegetable-based dishes and low-fat options. I contrast this situation with an encounter I recall from the neighborhood of my upbringing. Waiting in line in a convenience store, I witnessed a woman in her late 40s tell a group of 5 sibling grandchildren to get what they wanted for an afternoon snack. Hurriedly, they grabbed from a shelf with packaged 500-calorie foods, namely powdered sugar donuts and honey buns. With a smile on her face, the grandmother paid for the snacks using a debit card issued to her by the state for nutritional assistance. The nearby mother ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Policy Health reform Source Type: blogs