South Hackensack NJ, 5-5-2008

For More Information, contact:
NIHB: Colette Keith
P: 703-553-2514; C; 605-431-5857
ckeith@nihb.org
Or
E-Tech: Candace Kennedy
P: 866-333-8324
candace@ethnictechnologies.com

Ethnic Technologies CEO Zachary Wilhoit Strongly Endorses First Ever National Indian Health Board (NIHB) Public Health Summit

Washington, DC – It is true that American Indians and Alaska Natives carry a greater disease burden than others in the nation. But the perception that American Indians and Alaska Natives are grief stricken, culturally bankrupt and socially down trodden could not be farther from the truth. Stacy Bohlen, Executive Director of the National Indian Health Board and member of the Sault St. Marie Chippewa Tribe said, “The fact that, as tribal people, we have survived six hundred years of trauma to our culture and our physical wellbeing and have begun to increase in number is a testament to our strength.”

Tribal members, living on or off Indian reservations are challenged by wide reaching health disparities. American Indians and Alaska Natives have two hundred percent higher rates of diabetes and are 150 percent more likely to die in car accidents than other Americans.

Zachary Wilhoit, CEO of Ethnic Technologies and member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) noted, “Our mission as corporations and individuals must be to support and uniquely reach out together to important ethnic groups, just as the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) does, to understand and meet their diverse needs, particularly in the area of health care.”

The first ever NIHB Public Health Summit will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in May. The purpose of the Summit is to celebrate the partnerships that have been made between national organizations, the federal government and tribes to address matters related to Indian Health.

Of the upcoming Public Health Summit, Bohlen said, “Even as an advocate for the tribes, we re-dedicate ourselves daily to making healthy choices, knowing that a lot of people in Indian Country depend on us. We are not an Island, we need others to further the effort. We have to be a voice and the NIHB Public Health Summit will be a full circle celebration of those partnerships.”