African-Americans are often faced with sufficient access to health care which restricts proper treatment. The prohibitive cost of office visits and pharmaceuticals discourage many within the Black community from taking proper care of themselves, leading to increased illness and the even more crippling financial hardships of hospitalization.

The 14th program in the BLACK ISSUES FORUM series, "HEALTH CARE: AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN CRISIS" investigates the causes of this "epidemic" of inadequate health care in the African-American community. This program will aired Wed. 8 at 9:00 pm on all 10 channels of North Carolina Public Television.

Preventive strategies-including enhanced health awareness education and the development of more minority physicians will be discussed by four nationally - acclaimed physicians and health-care experts who serve as panelists during the program.

Charles Johnson, MD., President of the National Medical Association, Durham, N.C., states, " 50 million American almost have no access to health care. Most Americans I have encountered are very proud and don't want to be beggars....to get access to health care...because they don't want anyone else to think that they are less a human being than anyone else."

PANELISTS:

CHARLES JOHNSON M.D., President of the National Medical Association, Durham, NC.

SINGLETON McALLISTER, Legislative Council of the National Medical Association, McLean, VA.

FRED D. McQUEEN, Jr., M.D., President of the Old North State Medical Society, Rochingham, NC.

VIVIAN PINN-WIGGINS, M.D., Chairperson of the Department of Pathology at the College of Medicine at Howard University, Washington, DC.

The panel discussion was moderated by Valeria L. Lee, Chair of the North Carolina Center for Public Television and Program Development Officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. The Executive Producer id Dr. Paul Vandergrift.