Contact:
Regina Boone
Development and Public Relations
919-546-8269
For Immediate Release

Health Enhancement Through Medicine and Spirituality Conference
(Raleigh, NC) - February 6, 2004 -- On Saturday, February 21st health professionals and church leaders from across the state will convene at Shaw University for the Third Annual Health Enhancement Through Medicine and Spirituality Conference (HEMS). The HEMS conference will focus on the elimination of health disparities in the African-American community through the promotion of healthy lifestyles and health advocacy. The conference is sponsored through a partnership between the Shaw University Divinity School (SUDS) and the Old North State Medical Society (ONSMS). The UNC-Shaw Partnership for the Elimination of Health Disparities is also contributing to this year’s conference. A private session with a select group of religious and health care professionals will also be held on Friday, February 20th as a precursor to the main activity on Saturday.

This year’s theme is “Building An Effective Ministry of Health and Healing.” The conference will be held at the Shaw University Divinity School. The Divinity school is located in the historic Leonard Building on the campus of Shaw University, 816 South Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC. 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20th

Rev. Dr. Melvin Baxter Tuggle II, Pastor of the Garden of Prayer Baptist Church in Baltimore MD will facilitate an in-depth discussion with a select group of ministers, physicians, health care administrators and researchers. The purpose of this session is to identify the key elements associated with the development of faith-based ministries of health and healing. The session will also include a discussion on the benefits and challenges of church-university-public health partnerships. An emphasis will be placed on how such partnerships can be used to strengthen the infrastructure of church based health initiatives through the identification and mobilization of resources (financial, human and organizational) that will help all partners to reach their goals more effectively and efficiently. 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21st

Registration and networking begins at 8 am, with the opening plenary session commencing at 9 am. 
Rev. Dr. Tuggle, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Tuggle authored the book, “It is Well with My Soul: Churches and Institutions Collaborating for Public Health,” Rev. Tuggle initiated the formation of a partnership between John Hopkins University, the WK Kellogg Foundation and the East Baltimore Church and Neighborhood Communities. As an active Pastor, Rev. Tuggle developed and implemented a ministry that served over 4,000 high risk persons during the first two years of its existence. He is also Founder and President of Heart, Body and Soul Inc. Heart, Body and Soul is the health initiative of Clergy United for Renewal of East Baltimore, Inc. (CURE). Rev. Tuggle holds faculty appointments in the School of Public Health and Hygiene, the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing at John Hopkins University. He has given speeches, seminars and consulted with a variety of federal agencies, universities and professional associations such as the National Lung Association, the National Institutes of Health, the Congress of National Black Churches, the National Minority Health Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Meharry Medical College.