May 2008 Special Report Highlights 140 Doctors Changing the Face of
Medicine
NEW YORK, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The May issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE (BE)
unveils its 2008 report on the best and brightest in medicine. In
"America's Leading Doctors," BE names 140 top-notch physicians responsible
for saving millions of lives through the revolutionary treatment of
diseases, from cancer and diabetes to heart attacks and HIV/AIDS. Many of
these doctors have been responsible for major medical breakthroughs and
have participated in the creation of drugs that have vastly improved the
quality of life for patients.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080501/NYTH109 )
BE developed its May cover package at a time when African Americans
continue to contend with an ever-widening gap in the quality of available
healthcare. Some of the factors that contribute to this escalating crisis
include lack of access to services and the alarmingly high cost of adequate
care. Meanwhile, the proportion of the nation's black doctors has remained
stagnant. African Americans make up 13.4% of the total U.S. population but
only 5.6% of all U.S. physicians and surgeons -- 44,900 out of 888,000.
Even fewer black doctors are in positions of power and leadership. Just
under a dozen serve as chairs of departments at the nation's medical
schools.
"A consistent objective of BLACK ENTERPRISE is to communicate that
without investing in the quality of our health and that of our families and
communities, it is all but impossible to create sustainable,
multigenerational wealth," says Founder and Publisher Earl G. Graves Sr.
"The life of my father was cut short at the age of 46 by a heart condition
that was likely both preventable and treatable. The exceptional black
physicians we highlight uniquely understand the medical issues that
confront African Americans. Their expertise makes them an essential part of
the solution to the healthcare crisis facing black Americans and our entire
nation."
The cover features New York University School of Medicine Cardiologist
Jennifer H. Mieres, Cedars-Sinai Neurosurgery Chair Keith L. Black, and
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Pediatrician Kevin B. Johnson. What
sets this year's list apart from our previous lists, published in 1998 and
2001, is a stronger weighting of innovators involved in medical
breakthroughs among specialties. The editors spent more than six months
engaged in research, consulting organizations such as the National Medical
Association, American Medical Association, Association of Black
Cardiologists, American Cancer Society, Association of American Physicians
and Surgeons, American Diabetes Association, and Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. BE also contacted top-ranked physicians as well as
the nation's leading medical schools, including Johns Hopkins University,
Harvard University, Meharry Medical College, Howard University College of
Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Columbia University College
of Physicians and Surgeons, Weill Medical College of Cornell University,
and Mayo Medical School.
The complete "America's Leading Doctors" feature story is available in
the May 2008 issue of black enterprise on newsstands now.
BLACK ENTERPRISE, your ultimate source for wealth creation, is the
premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African
Americans. Since 1970, BE has provided essential business information and
advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision
makers. Every month, BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine provides 3.9 million readers
with information on entrepreneurship, careers, and financial management. A
multimedia company, BE also produces radio and television programming,
business and lifestyle events, Web content, and digital media. BLACK
ENTERPRISE is the definitive source of information for and about African
American business markets and leaders, and the authority on black business
news and trends.
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