Dr. Walden is organizing meeting on healthcare

Cairo physician Linda I. Walden, M.D., has organized an informational meeting for the public to learn more about the Affordable Health Care Act in less than two weeks. The town hall meeting will take place at Dr. Walden’s church, Bethel AME Church in Tallahassee, on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014.
A panel of healthcare experts is expected to be on hand for presentations and discussions. Principal lecturer and panelist will be former Surgeon General nominee Herbert Smitherman, M.D., MPH, FACP, Assistant Dean of Community and Urban Health Wayne State School of Medicine in Detroit, Mich. Dr. Smitherman is also a former member of the U.S. Health Advisory Committee and co-author of “Taking Care of The Uninsured: The Path to Health Reform.” 
Other panelists will include Mr. Carl Patten, director of health policy, Florida Blue Cross, Blue Shield; Dr. Gil Silva, deputy director of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Region 4 (Georgia and Florida); Joseph Webster, MD, local gastroenterologist; and Dr. Elsie Crowell, consumer advocate.
President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into Law in 2010.
Bethel AME is located at 501 W. Orange Ave., Tallahassee. The town hall meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 11.
For more information contact Darryl Jones at Bethel AME Church at 850-576-7501 or Dr. Linda I. Walden, program chairwoman, at 229-377-0908.