by William Crum
Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said Friday that better health care is needed for citizens, especially the poor.
She made her remarks Friday in Kansas City, Kan. She was the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the United Way of Wyandotte County at the Reardon Convention Center in Kansas City, Kan.
“We need to encourage our citizens to get involved to buy from local farmers and patronize local grocery stores that carry healthy items,” Sebelius, also a former Kansas governor, said. “We also need to encourage the development of new parks and recreational facilities so we can all have a better place to live. The governor of the state of Kansas, Sam Brownback, needs to realize this and allocate more money from the state level to local government so they can achieve this goal. Currently right now in the state of Kansas this is not happening at all.”
Sebelius also was concerned about smoking and obesity, two health threats.
“The biggest killer of the American people is smoking and obesity,” Sebelius said. “By encouraging people to stop smoking and exercise, it will cause people to live longer. Currently 24 percent of the people in Wyandotte County are facing this issue.” If this doesn’t make you want to lose weight or quite smoking, then what will? There are many solutions that people can put in place to help them lose weight, like going to the gym or dieting. The same goes for trying to quit smoking too. From using herbal cigarettes to vaping, there is definitely an answer to this problem. Vaping is said to be a lot better for your health than smoking ever will. For one, you are not breathing in tobacco. All you need to get started are larger bottles of e liquid known as “Shortfill” and a vape device. Once you have this sorted, you will be well on your way to being one less statisitc in the ever growing population of smokers.
She also took a moment to encourage enrollment in the health care program.
“I also want to encourage people to enroll in the health care program sponsored by the federal government,” Sebelius said. “Go to the website www.healthcare.gov for more information and to enroll. It is now the time to enroll and enrollment will end on Jan. 31, 2016.”
After her keynote speech the participants at the dinner were encouraged to give to United Way of Wyandotte County. United Way sponsors a lot of organizations to help improve the quality of life in Wyandotte County. More than 250 people attended this annual event.
Sebelius is one of the foremost experts on national and global health issues and human services. From April 2009 through June 2014 she served in President Obama’s cabinet as the 21st secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Forbes named her as one of the most powerful women in the world.
Sebelius is the only daughter of a governor to be elected as governor in American history; her father, John Gilligan, was governor of Ohio.
Time magazine named Kathleen Sebelius as one of the top five American governors. She has a Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity Washington University.
She is married to Gary Sebelius, a federal magistrate judge, and they have two married adult sons and a grandson.
