8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 19, 1998 LOCAL/STATE A2 clinic hosts Elders in Kelley headlines symposium 0 anniversary celebration ELDERS Continued from Page 1A her time as the head physician of the United States. "I did the very best that I could do, so I felt very good about that," she said. "I loved being your Surgeon General, and I would do exactly the same thing." The Packard Community Clinic sponsored Saturday's event in cele- bration of its 25th anniversary. Elders' address kicked off a five-part forum on health issues, said Leroy Cappaert, the clinic's chair of the board. The Packard Community Clinic is a non-profit care-giver that hosts health care education programs to the Ann Arbor community. "We wanted to be able to give some- thing back to the community for all they have done for us," Cappaert said. "She's a great way to kick it off." By Jason Stoffer Daily Staff Reporter As HMOs continue to replace tradi- tional health care plans, citizens and members of the nation's medical com- munity must confront a new spectrum of quality care problems. Experts from around the nation, including Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley, gathered Friday and Saturday at the Law School to discuss the changing dynamics of the industry as it approaches the next millennium. Kelley, who is retiring this year after serving 36 years as Michigan's attorney general, has been a national leader on prosecuting negligent health care providers. Kelley said his office has a moral responsibility to ensure that citizens receive proper medical treatment. "People are concerned if their health care provider is more interested in reap- ing profits than in providing them with the best possible care," he said. Kelley said the most crucial issue in Michigan health care today is when for- profit corporations purchase hospitals and nursing homes. "Anonymous corporate (nursing home) executives are making staffing decisions based not on the interests of the patients but their own interests," Kelley said. Kelley cited cases of abuse such as a patient being raped in a nursing home while inspectors were present, death from overfeeding through feeding tubes and amputations that were necessitated by bedsores. "I have filed 71 charges of felonies against three corporations" and against individual executives, he said. Kelley's office also has filed civil cases to prevent for-profit health care companies from purchasing Michigan's charitable non-profit hospitals. Kelley's keynote address kicked off the symposium, but the crowd didn't leave after his speech ended. During the weekend conference, audience members attended panel dis- cussions, roundtables and a second keynote address by Gail Warden, CEO of Detroit's Henry Ford Health Care Systems. Symposium Co-Coordinator Brian Denadio, a Law third-year student, said the event was organized to facilitate dis- cussion and to contribute to the body of literature on health care reform. "We're hoping to get three different articles published" in the Journal of Law Reform, said Denadio, the sympo- sium editor of the University-based journal. He said publications on governmene regulation of health care and other top- ics have the potential to help shape pub- lic policy. The Journal of Law Reform "has been used by academics and has been cited in briefs to the courts," he said. One of the most debated issues at the seminar was how to ration health care, Even with the advent of managed care, health care has been a rising por- tion of U.S. economic output and now accounts for 14 percent of the U.1 gross national product. UNIT ED STUDENT SPECIALS A U T 0 Oil Changes .Tune Ups A N D -Witerizations E*Complete Auto Repair -Foreign and Domestics R E PA IR Serviced National Pharmacy Week opens doors 2321 Jackson Ave. Ann Arbor 48103 (734) 665-7130 I'M 0 o O o o O T TOWING By Asma Rafeeq For the Daily For students undecided about the right field of study for them, this week may be the perfect time to think about pharmacy. National Pharmacy Week began yes- terday, and local pharmacists and College of Pharmacy students are spreading the word about their career choice. Pharmacy is "virtually recession- proof," said Frank Ascione, Pharmacy associate dean for academic affairs. Shortage creates jobs Currently, there is a shortage of phar- macists in the nation and salaries for recent pharmacy graduates can run from $50,000 to $70,000, Ascione said. Ascione said the profession's future outlook is bright because of a trend toward team-based health care. He said a recent revolution in drug therapy has brought a new crop of powerful and expensive drugs onto the market, lead- ing to the expansion of the a pharma- cist's role. "Traditionally, physicians have made the decision about the appropriate use of drugs," Ascione said. "But pharma- cists have the overall expertise in the area of prescriptions, and (physicians) have realized that they can't do it alone." In some hospitals, pharmacists 2321 Jackson Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48103 AAA Contractors WE DO NOT IMPOUND (734) 761-4343 I The Princeton Review will get you a little closer to medical school. Invest in your future. Call us today. advise physicians on dosage schedules, drug interactions and side effects. "The reputation of pharmacists is very positive," said Larr* Wagenknecht, chief executive officer of the Michigan Pharmacists Association. In a 1998 Gallup Poll of careers, the pharmacy profession was ranked first for honesty and high ethical stan- dards. But the expertise of pharmacists often goes unnoticed, said Wagenknecht, a University alumnus. "When you think of pharmacists, you basically think of someone countO ing pills," Wagenknecht said. "Yet pharmacists are the most available untapped source of health care infor- mat ion." Local pharmacist Bob Van Bemmelen said he finds "students (to be) a lot more inquisitive than the gen- eral public." Van Bemmelen has worked at Village Apothecary on South University Avenue for 4 1/2 years. "Younger people have unique needs,' Van Bemmelen said. He said birth con- trol pills, acne skin preparations and anti-depressants are among the most common types of medications filled at Village Apothecary. To celebrate the week, the Association of Student Pharmacists plans to hand out flyers on the Diag this week that explain how pharmacists can assist patients. U.S. News & World Report ranked the University's College of Pharmacy number three in the nation in 1997. 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