About the Summit
Somali Health Summit is an annual health conference organized by Somali Medical Association of America and Its primary purpose is to promote the health of East Africa populations during the continuum of their migration, and resettlement by assembling multidisciplinary experts in research, education, advocacy and clinical practice.
The aims of Somali Health Summit are to:
- Identify, develop and disseminate evidence-based knowledge and practices for the equitable care and support of the East African community, including physical, medical, mental and social wellbeing.
- Define, formulate, and evaluate research in the community, and foster healthy research collaborations and networking among scholars, service providers, policymakers, and community advocates involved in health. Build capacity for the care of our community taking into account structural competency and culturally appropriate care, including through trainees’ education.
- Advocate for better health and social outcomes for community through upholding human rights and fair practices. Share knowledge and experience about how COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has disproportionately impacted our populations.
Target Audience
Family Physicians/Primary Care Practitioners, Specialists, Researchers, Nurses, Mental Health Workers, Nurse Practitioners, Allied Health Workers, Policy & Public Health Specialists, Refugees, Students, and other Professionals interested in Immigrant community health
Speakers
Executive Director of Somali Medical Association of America (SMAA) and the Chairman of Somali Public Health Advisory Committee at MDH. Dr Aden is a physician with 20 years of experience in immigrants and refugee’s health and public health. He mostly worked abroad with international organizations such as UN. Dr Aden’s special interest include primary care and preventive medicine
Assistant professor at University of Minnesota department of family medicine and community health. Her research focuses on addressing the health disparities of the underserved communities. particularly in immigrant and refugee families and communities. As faculty in the Program in Health Disparities Research (PHDR), she engages in highly collaborative, community based and interdisciplinary studies that bridge academic research with community health needs.
Dr. Cuong Pham is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He completed his residency training at the University of Minnesota in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Currently he has a mix of clinic at the Community University Health Care Center (CUHCC), which serves the underserved citizens of Minneapolis, and inpatient wards at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. He has had varying cultural experiences working abroad in Vietnam and South Africa.
Dr. Westfall is the Associate Director and the Director of Osteopathic Education of the University of Minnesota Mankato Family Medicine Residency She serves on the American College of Osteopathic Physicians (ACOFP) Committee on Osteopathic Recognition. She is an adjunct assistant professor of family medicine at Mayo Clinic Medical School, and adjunct associate professor at the Des Moines College of Osteopathic Medicine
Dr. Sakhaudiin Mohamud is the director of COVID Response Programs at WellShare international. He has profound experience in population health, health disparities in immigrant health and healthcare research; with strong track record in epidemiology, biostatistics and evidence-based medicine.
Dr Ibrahim is a foreign trained physician with broad experience in working underserved communities and in resource limited settings. Mohamed is highly engaged in community at the Greater Mankato area serving on several committees and local public health boards. He is currently working with WellShare international as Lead Internal Consultant.
Aisha Galaydh is the African Immigrant COVID Community Coordinator Contract Manager at Minnesota Department of Health. She has more than five years of experience in community engagement, child development, and psychosocial support.
Nawal Hirsi has been working in community health for 10 years serving to reduce health disparities in cultural, immigrant and refugee, racial and ethnic populations through diversity, equity and inclusion framework. She currently works as a Community Engagement Manager in M Health Fairview and manages the Health Commons at Cedar-Riverside.
Yussuf Shafie MSW, LICSW is a licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor ( LADC) with the Board of Behavioral Health and active member of the addiction community. Yussuf is owner of Alliance Wellness Center in Bloomington, MN, a DHS licensed Substance Abuse Outpatient and Inpatient Treatment Program. He is Board member of the Minnesota Trauma Project and Minnesota Recovery Connection.
Mr. Abdullahi Sheikh is currently program manager at African Community Services and Instructor at St Mary’s University School of Public Health. He has worked on different capacity with several organizations around EDHI, Eliminating Health Disparity Initiatives Projects, HIV/AIDS Community Education.
Sahra Odowa is the executive director of Advocates for Thriving Communities and also serve as member of Scott County Mental Health Local Advisory Council. Sahra has Master in public health and bachelor of applied science.
Zuhur Ahmed is working on her Ph.D. in management & organizational leadership. Her research interest is understanding how patients, physicians, and healthcare administrative leaders experience the visit duration. Zuhur has BA in Biology, MBA-Healthcare Management, M.Phil. in Management.
Schedule
We know how valuable your time is, so we scheduled the entire event around mingling and socializing.
Program
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Opening Remark and Keynote Presentation 9:00am – 9:20am
Welcome to the 2021 SMAA Health Summit! We are thrilled to be joined by the Executive Director of the Somali Medical Association of America, Dr. Aden Roble, and our Keynote speaker, Dr. Abdirizak Ahmed.
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COVID Presentation 9:20am – 9:40am
Join us for a presentation by Dr. Rebekah Pratt
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COVID and the Somali Community 9:40am – 10:40am
Panel discussion of COVID and the Somali community. Panelists include Dr. Sakhaudiin Mohamud, Aisha Galaydh, Okash Heybe, and Nawal Hirsi.
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Opioid Presentation 10:45am – 11:00am
Join us for a presentation by Abdullahi Sheikh
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The Opioid Crisis and the Somali Community 11:00am – 12:00pm
Panel discussion of the Opioid Crisis and the Somali community. Panelists include Zuhur Ahmed, Dr. Cuong Pham, Yussuf Shafie, Abdirahman Warsame, and Sahra Odowa.
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Closing Remarks 12:00pm – 12:05pm
Somali Health Summit 2019
The Summit Recognized The Following Heroes for Their Contribution to Improve the Health of Somali Community
2022 Somali Health Summit: Call for Abstract Submission
Deadline: May 25th, 2022