Health Care and the Constitution

September 17, 2009

Saint Leo University will commemorate Constitution Day 2009 with a dynamic program: “Is Universal Health Care Constitutional?' As Congress contemplates legislation to reform the nation’s health care system, many questions about costs and rights have come to the forefront of the public debate.

Saint Leo faculty members will draw on their expertise to shed light on some of these complexities for this year’s Constitution Day forum. The program will be held at 7 p.m., Wednesday, September 23, in the Student Community Center, and will be moderated by Anthony Esposito, assistant professor of history. The public is invited.

The speakers and topics planned are:

• “Health Care and the Constitution' with Hudson Reynolds, associate professor of political science. Reynolds teaches courses on constitutional and government issues.
• “Health Care Systems Around the World' with an international panel. Faculty members presenting are Marco Rimanelli, professor of political science; Patricia Campion, associate professor of sociology; Astrid Vicas, associate professor of philosophy; and Galo Alava, assistant professor of health care administration. Rimanelli is originally from Italy and specializes in politics and international relations. Campion has studied or worked previously in Europe and Mexico and writes frequently on international dimensions of social issues. Vicas previously taught at universities in Canada, where she was educated, and at Saint Leo teaches philosophy and ethics courses. Alava was trained as a medical doctor in his native Ecuador and at Saint Leo teaches courses including health care organization.
• “Health Care in America: An Overview of Access and Funding' with Dr. Gavin Putzer. Putzer holds a medical degree from the University of South Florida in addition to the Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University and a doctorate in health services research from the University of Florida. He recently joined Saint Leo as associate professor of health care management.

About Constitution Day
On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created establishing the American system of government. Saint Leo University is among the universities, colleges and schools that annually commemorate this important passage in history with special programming in mid- or late September. Saint Leo’s 2009 forum is scheduled on September 23 to avoid scheduling conflicts and to allow the greatest number of people in the university community the opportunity to attend.

For more information, contact: Heather Parker, Ph.D., SLU chair of social sciences at (352) 588-7894 or heather.parker02@saintleo.edu; or Jo-Ann Johnston, SLU media coordinator at (352) 588-8237 or jo-ann.johnston@saintleo.edu.