Local physician selected to lead minority affairs

The School of Medicine has appointed Dr. Donald Parks, a physician who has cared for North Philadelphia residents for more than two decades, assistant dean for minority affairs. In his new role, he will strengthen recruitment and retention of minority faculty, students and staff at the school; lead the school’s efforts to give back to the community by improving health care for North Philadelphians; and direct the newly established Center for Minority Health Studies, one of only a few in the nation dedicated to the study and improvement of minority health.

“We want to show our commitment to the North Philadelphia community and improve our understanding of disease prevalence, progression and treatment,” said School of Medicine Dean John Daly. “We believe Temple physicians and scientists can continue to make a significant impact on the care of our patients.”

Parks, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Temple in 1973, has a long and close association with the University. He earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and currently serves on the boards at Temple’s School of Medicine, Health System, and Children’s Medical Center. He is also associate professor of medicine.

“Dr. Parks is a true leader in medicine,” Daly said. “He is a compassionate, caring physician with a wonderful vision for health care in Philadelphia.”

“The first step in improving minority health is attracting the best and brightest minority faculty, staff and students to Temple and keeping them here,” Parks said. “It’s important that we reflect the community we serve.”

A recent study from Johns Hopkins University found that patients had better health care experiences when treated by a physician of the same race. Currently, Temple’s medical school ranks among the top 10 in the nation in its percentage of underrepresented minority medical students.

Parks will also lead the school’s continuing push to improve the health care of North Philadelphians.

“We want our patients to have access to the best treatment available,” Parks said. “And the best medical treatment results when patients can choose both from current therapies as well as investigational therapies. There’s no way around the fact that medical research is how we improve health care.”

With multiple funded research programs that focus on minority health already under way and a strong tradition of community outreach and care, Temple is the perfect setting for a minority health studies center. Parks will coordinate various minority health projects throughout the University by bringing together individuals from the schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Health Professions, Dentistry and Podiatry, as well as from colleges and schools located on Main Campus. — Eryn Jelesiewicz

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Temple researchers have recently undertaken a number of minority health initiatives:

• Heart disease and telemedicine: With the support of a $4 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Temple is using telemedicine to lower heart disease risk in lower-income inner-city residents. The researchers hope that patient/doctor contact via the Internet will not only help detect problems earlier, but also will empower participants to insist on better health care.

• Temple Health Connection: Parks is medical director of this nurse-practitioner-run health center located in the Norris Homes just east of Main Campus. The program, now in its seventh year, is one of four such centers in the city focused on improving community access to health care.

• Center of Excellence in Lung Disease Research: This two-part project, supported by a $4.7 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, is examining risk factors for lung disease and testing low-cost intervention in Pennsylvania’s urban African-American residents and its rural residents, both of whom suffer more severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that often requires hospitalization.

• Exercise and obesity: With obesity prevalent among African Americans, particularly women, this NIH-funded study by the nursing department is investigating how different types of physical activity help African-American women keep weight off.

• Diabetes: Researchers are studying various aspects of diabetes. One project focuses on theprogression of obesity-associated diabetes to heart disease; the other focuses on using telemedicine to better manage diabetes during pregnancy, which helps both the mother and baby.
• High-risk pregnancy: In a study funded by the William Penn Foundation, Temple obstetricians significantly decreased the acute-care needs of high-risk obstetrical patients and their newborns through intense interaction before delivery, including the use of phone contact, home visits and nutrition guidance.

• Other Temple-led research focused on minority health includes bariatric surgery, HIV and AIDS, renal failure, kidney transplant, asthma and glaucoma.