Deep in the heart of south Los Angeles, Rep. Maxine Waters hosted a health care town hall at Southwest College. The well-attended August 22 town hall was packed to the gills well before its scheduled start time of 1:00 p.m. and the primarily pro-health care reform crowd consisted of SEIU members, Organizing for America activists and other concerned citizens and organizers. A festive atmosphere met the town hall attendees as they gathered and signed pledge forms to support health care reform. Two orderly lines were formed by Rep. Waters Congressional staffers, and each person signed in before they entered the Southwest College Town Center for the meeting.
Congresswoman Waters invited a distinguished panel of health care professionals that included Dr. Yasser Aman, founder of the much lauded Uma Clinic in south LA. Rep. Waters went on to praise the Uma Clinic, calling it a "melting pot of health professionals" and making special recognition of Dr. Aman's quest to find podiatrists to tend to the needs of a community that is rampant with cases of Type 2 Diabetes.
The Congresswoman pointed out select folks in the audience who work in the medical field to make the quality of life better for residents in Congressional District 35--people like Dr. Releford, who started the Barbershop Network to facilitate the treating of African American men who are reluctant to go to the doctor by enabling them to be tested for diabetes and hypertension right from their barber's chair. Dr. Releford is also revered for saving patients suffering from diabetes the pain and suffering of having limbs amputated.
Rep. Waters expressed strong feelings in support of health reform during the town hall, saying:
"Health is not simply a privilege, it is a right."
And on single payer:
"We gave up on single payer but we're not giving up on public option."
Congresswoman Waters also had a special message for President Obama:
"We know that President Obama is a nice man, but there comes a time where you have to drop that and move forward. Mr. President: be tough, do everything that you have to do, and know that we have your back."
You can read more about the town hall in the LA Times here.
