Ivan Walks, MD, Presented at 44th National Immunization Conference
Ivan Walks, MD, President and CEO, Ivan Walks & Associates (IWA) and Carlessia Hussein, RN, PhD, Director, Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) were selected to present at the 44th National Immunization Conference (NIC).
NIC is sponsored by the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and will be held April 19-22, 2010 in Atlanta, GA.
Dr. Walks and Dr. Hussein presented a discussion on "Culturally Competent H1N1 Vaccine Communications and Outreach in Maryland." Their presentation was during workshop A2, "Communication Strategies to Vaccinate Minority and Other Special Populations Against H1N1" that was scheduled for Monday, April 19, 2010, starting at 11:00 AM.
Please visit http://cdc.gov/vaccines/events/nic for more information about NIC. For more information on Dr. Walks or IWA, please contact us at info@ivanwalks.com or 301-583-5191.
Ivan Walks, MD named Medical Committee Chair, DC Affiliate of NBLCA
Founded in November 1987, The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) is the oldest and largest not-for-profit organization of its kind in the United States. The NBLCA’s mission is to educate, organize, and empower Black leadership, including clergy, elected officials, medical practitioners, business professionals, social policy experts, and the media to meet the challenge of fighting HIV/AIDS in their local communities.
In his role as Chair of the Medical Committee for the NBLCA affiliate in Washington, DC, Dr. Ivan Walks is responsible for working across stakeholder groups to conduct research, and encourage advocacy to ensure effective local participation in all policy and resource allocation decisions relative to HIV and AIDS and their spread in the African American community.
For more information about Dr. Walks and his work with the NBLCA, email info@ivanwalks.com or call 301-357-8324, ext. 500.
“My Family Knows” presented at NCHCMM
Dr. Ivan C.A. Walks, President and CEO, Ivan Walks & Associates (IWA) made an oral presentation entitled, "“MY FAMILY KNOWS:” A Health Marketing and Communications Campaign to Inform and Educate “at Risk” African American and Hispanic American Girls and Their Families about the Threat of HPV Infection" during the National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media (NCHCMM) to be held in Atlanta, GA August 11-13, 2009.
“My Family Knows” was conceived as a grassroots collaborative that operated from the premise that a particular health disparity or threat to vulnerable and “at risk” populations, human papillomavirus (HPV) in this case, could not be eliminated without first eliminating the underlying causes(s). Before its rollout, however, the inherent health communication and marketing campaign had to be seen as viable and perceived as genuinely addressing an issue using a community specific approach.
At NCHCMM, Dr. Walks discussed how to ensure that there are concrete campaign goals as well as a clear understanding of the targeted audience(s) and their cultural mores. He also talked about how to develop messaging and content that are relevant to, and resonate within, “hard to reach” communities.
NCHCMM was sponsored by the National Center for Health Marketing, the Office of Enterprise Communication, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Cancer Institute and the National Public Health Information Coalition. It brought together individuals representing academia, public health researchers and practitioners from federal and state government and the private sector, and was a forum for collegial dialogue within and across these disciplines.
For more information about the conference or background on Dr. Walks or the “My Family Knows” health communication and marketing campaign, email info@ivanwalks.com or call 301-357-8324, ext. 500.
Dr. Ivan C.A. Walks selected to serve on MD Swine Flu Advisory Board
On April 30, 2009, Governor Martin O’Malley appointed Dr. Ivan C.A. Walks, Dr. John G. Bartlett, Dr. Frank M. Calia, Dr. Thomas V. Inglesby, Dr. James P. Nataro and Dr. Ina Stephens to a board established to advise him and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) on issues related to the occurrence of the H1N1 (swine) influenza virus in the state.
“The members of this advisory board represent some of the best minds in medicine, infectious disease and pediatrics and have already provided invaluable advice and guidance,” said Governor O’Malley. “While we making every preparation we can as a state, the decisions ahead may broadly impact the lives of all Marylanders, and each member of this advisory board brings the scientific, clinical and academic guidance that will be immensely valuable in this decision-making process. We fully expect to see more cases of swine flu in Maryland, and will continue to provide the public with the latest information possible.”
For more information about Dr. Walks and his work with the Maryland Swine Flu Advisory Board, email info@ivanwalks.com or call 301-357-8324, ext. 500.
IWA on CIMS ID/IQ
IWA is a teammate and subcontractor of DB Consulting Group, Inc. on their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Information Management Services (CIMS) contract award in the Information Management domains under the Small Business and 8(a) categories.
CIMS is a multiple award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide a broad range of information technology services to support the global health mission of the CDC. Orders for services will be conducted through the issuance of individual task orders. The term of this IDIQ contract is a two (2) year base period and four (4) two-year option periods, comprising a total ten (10) year ordering period if all options are exercised by the Government. The contract involves a variety of task order types, including Firm Fixed Price (FFP), Time and Materials (T&M), Labor-Hour (LH) or a combination thereof. For this effort there is a minimum of $1,000 over the contract life cycle. The maximum amount of all orders issued and awarded under the IM CIMS contract over the 10 year period of performance shall not exceed $3,000,000,000.00. And the maximum ceiling amount of this contract may be increased to accommodate additional needs of the Agency that are within the scope of the contract.
For more information, please email info@ivanwalks.com or call 301-583-5191.
IWA Awarded Contract to Provide TDRL Support to Army
In September 2010, IWA received a competitive small business award to pilot a Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) administration program in collaboration with the Army's North Atlantic Region Medical Center (NaRMC).
As background, American military personnel found unfit for duty due to Service-related illnesses or injuries are potentially eligible for placement on the TDRL. A Veteran's presence on the TDRL means that the conditions surrounding his or her particular disability have been deemed unstable by a Physical Evaluation Board, and may require periodic re-examination during a period not to exceed five years in order for them to retain the associated compensation benefits.
IWA's contract, a single award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) effort valued in excess of $17M over four years if all options are exercised, represents the first time that clinical and human services staff outside of the Government have been engaged to ensure timely re-exam of those Veterans on the TDRL, systematically compile information on TDRL outcomes, and, where and when appropriate, provide counseling related to the Army's disability rating decisions. Subcontractor support for this effort is provided by QTC Management, Inc, and Technology, Automation & Management, Inc.
For more information, please see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) published by the Army's Physical Disability Agency (PDA) at https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/active/tagd/pda/pdapage.htm or email TDRL@ivanwalks.com or call 301-583-5191, Option 2 to reach IWA's Military TDRL Support group.