Martha Banks to Discuss Impact of Health Care Debate on Blacks, Latinos

Final Africana Studies Seminar of the fall semester to be held Nov. 5 at The College of Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio - Martha Banks, a research neuropsychologist in the Research & Development Division of ABackans DCP, Inc., in Akron and a former professor of Black Studies at The College of Wooster, will present "The Health Care Debate and its Impact on Health Care Disparities in the Black and Latino Communities" at the third Africana Studies Seminar of the Fall Semester on Thursday, Nov. 5. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Wooster's new Center for Diversity and Global Engagement in Babcock Hall (1315 Beall Ave.) at 11 a.m..

Banks will discuss the latest findings on health and health care disparities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the American Psychological Association. She will also talk about the importance of gender and age in health and health care. Her presentation will be a brief update of her 2004 First-Year Seminar course at Wooster, titled "Should I Call My Bank, My Parents, or My Lawyer? Seeking Answers about Health Disparities."

A graduate of Brown University where she earned a degree in psychology, Banks received her master's degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island. She worked at Brecksville Medical Center, where she served as clinical psychologist, trainer, and developing consultant of the Mental Health Package in the computerized medical record, as well as Federal Women's Program Coordinator and hospital-wide trainer about sexual harassment. She has been instrumental in the development and revision of the Ackerman-Banks Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Battery (c). In addition to her 2008-2009 presidency of the Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35 of the American Psychological Association), Banks is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, having served on its Council of Representatives, Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, Committee on Women in Psychology, Committee on APA/Division Relations, and Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest. She has also been President of the Society for Psychology of Women's Section on Psychology of Black Women.

Banks' honors include the Sue Rosenberg Zalk Award for Distinguished Service from the Society for the Psychology of Women, and numerous distinguished service awards from APA's Division of Rehabilitation Psychology as well as an American Psychological Association Presidential Citation. She has served on national advisory boards, and has published widely in professional books and journals. Since 1977, she has presented at more than 200 conferences and symposia on topics involving African Americans, women, trauma, disability, and health care.

Additional information about the Africana Studies Seminars is available by phone (330-263-2044) or e-mail.

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