GROWING AMERICAN HEALTH CARE CRISIS TOPIC OF TOWN HALL???S MORNING CONFERENCE

Los Angeles, CA ??" Wednesday, May 16, 2007 ??" Town Hall Los Angeles and the California HealthCare Foundation present a morning conference on the growing crisis in health care confronting businesses, Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel.

The conference begins with keynote speaker, William R. Brody, MD, President of Johns Hopkins University, delivering his address ???Sick Hospitals, Sick You: Healing America???s Health Care Crisis. A panel discussion on cures for the nation???s ailing health care system follows.

Panelists include E. Richard Brown, Director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research; Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Acting Director and Public Health and Health Officer, Los Angeles County; and Dale Surowitz, Chief Executive Officer, Encino-Tarzana Medical Center.

On the current interaction between medicine and the legal system, Brody said, "The tangle we've created between law and medicine in this country is unjust, unworkable and unfair??? Brody became the 13^th president of Hopkins in 1996. Prior to that, Brody was the Provost of the Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota.

Support for the conference comes from the California HealthCare Foundation. The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) is an independent philanthropy committed to improving the way health care is delivered and financed in California.

Throughout its history, Town Hall has hosted speakers and panels on the topic of health care including addresses in 2006 by Larry Glasscock, Chief Executive Officer, WellPoint, Inc. and Former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson. In 2004, Town Hall and CHCF hosted a panel on the future of employee health care benefits.

For 70 years, Town Hall Los Angeles has promoted civic participation, pride, and awareness. As a nonpartisan and nonprofit forum, we encourage a public discussion on issues of regional, national, and international significance. To be informed on issues impacting health care, join Town Hall.

All members of the media are invited to cover this event.

**Please credit Town Hall Los Angeles in your coverage.

Note to reporters and editors: The organization uses the full name Town Hall Los Angeles. Please do not make generic as in ???town hall. Media RSVP to Deborah Weinberg at [email protected] or 213.312.9307.