FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 27, 2009
CONTACT: David Nevin: (585) 338-3849

** Press Event: Forum on Health Justice to Feature Rep. John Conyers**

Health Care Activists Also to Participate
Media Critic, Jeff Cohen, Will Moderate

Sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America Genesee Valley Chapter, Interfaith Health Care Coalition of the Greater Rochester Community of Churches, Rochester and Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, Rochester National Organization for Women, Physicians for a National Health Program Finger Lakes Chapter, Single Payer New York

ROCHESTER, NY—Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), author of HR 676: The U.S. National Healthcare Act, will be the featured speaker at a forum discussing health justice on Sunday, November 15 at the Dryden Theatre, 900 East Avenue. The forum will run from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and admission is free to the public.

Also participating in the event will be Rep. Eric Massa, (D-NY), who chairs the House of Representatives’ Single Payer Congressional Caucus; California Nurses’ Association’s Donna Smith, whose travails with the American health insurance industry were among those chronicled in Michael Moore’s documentary SiCKO; Progressive Democrats of America’s National Director, Tim Carpenter; and Dr. Emily Queenan, a family medicine physician and representative of Physicians for a National Health Program. The forum will be moderated by Jeff Cohen, media critic and founder of the media watchdog group, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting. For more details and to register, go to www.pdagv.org/Registration_11-15-09.php.

The event is intended to serve as a forum for the general public to express their comments, concerns, questions and related experiences with regard to the current health care system, as well as a final opportunity to discern the provisions of the health care reform plans currently before Congress. “This forum represents an important opportunity for our elected officials to gain an appreciation for the prevailing public sentiment with regard to health care reform,” said Robin Wilt, co-founder of Progressive Democrats of America’s Genesee Valley chapter.

Progressive Democrats of America is one of the nation's fastest-growing grassroots political organizations; it has active chapters in 45 states. PDA is dedicated to reviving the progressive tradition of the Democratic Party through grassroots organizing and working with elected Democrats to advance peace, justice and social, economic and environmental responsibility. More information is available at: pdamerica.org.