2024 WEDI-HL7 Health Equity Forum & Workshop

Download the event agenda HERE

There are a variety of organizations (industry groups, community organizations, state and federal agencies, philanthropies and other health care/social services stakeholders) that are working to tackle healthcare disparities through various health equity- and SDOH-related efforts. The WEDI/HL7 Health Equity Forum & Workshop is intended to provide an informative, collaborative environment for sharing approaches, activities and update on health equity initiatives, community engagement, data exchange/standards/technology, and funding efforts.

The goals for this event include to:

• Reduce the silo driven approaches, and take advantage of opportunities to “braid” together the variety of funding sources
• provide all attendees with information and resource to newly developed and approved standards, protocols, and practices
• Assess the interest and options to join existing and new online communities to allow for the sharing of the myriad of initiatives
• Identifying the challenges (data collection, security, and use) for effective use of technology for underserved communities.

The program will begin with industry experts identifying and discussing key initiatives and issues related to the new White House playbook for SDOH and Health equity, followed by specific workgroups for discussion of both approaches and problems with their implementation. All of this is to ensure awareness regarding the nuances of the problems and opportunities inherent in our efforts. This event will convene key health equity engaged stakeholders to share the status and breadth of the efforts underway and to identify synergies to best address the priority challenges in 2024, done with a focus on Maternal Health, Transitions of Care and/or Chronic Disease. 

Why? Lack of awareness of programs, resources or available data/technology to assist in these SDOH-related problems will result in redundancies, inefficiencies, fragmentation, missed opportunities and suboptimal results. This forum and workshop will:

• To identify better ways to inform and align the work of existing varied consensus groups
• Convene key stakeholders to align approaches
• Identify “best-practices” and data standards that address the top health equity-related problems that need to be solved

Presenters and Panelists

Charles Stellar, President and CEO, WEDI and Dan Vreeman, DPT, Chief Standards Development Officer, HL7

Keynote Speakers:

Lisa Green, D.O., M.P.H, CEO and Co-Founder, Family Christian Health Center, Harvey, IL

Vindell Washington, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Director of Health Equity Center of Excllence, Verily Health Platforms, former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

Federal Government Stakeholders:

Kristie Clarke, CDR, US Public Health Service, Senior Advisor on Data for Health Equity, Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, US Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Kelly Cronin, Director, Center for Innovation & Partnership, Deputy Administrator, Administration for Community Living, US Department of Health & Human Services

Meagan Khau, Director of Data Analytics & research Group, CMS Office of Minority Health

Jawanna Henry, Interoperability Systems Branch Chief, Office of Policy, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT

The PACIO Project: Advancing Health Equity Through Data Standards

Dave Hill, BS ECE, CS, Health Informatics Principal, MITRE, Co-founder, PACIO Project

Nancy Lush, President and Founder, Patient Centric Solutions

Matt Bishop, CEO, Open City Labs

Community Based Organizations (CBO) 

Leigh Ann Eagle, Director of Health & Wellness Program, MAC, Chief Operating Office of the Living Well Center of Excellence

Stephanie Archer-Smith, Executive Director, Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland

June Simmons, President and CEO, Partners in Care Foundation

Monique Powell-Davis, MD, Executive Vice President of Medical Services, Mary's Center

Payer and Provider Panelists:

Marc Rabner, MD, Chief Medical Officer, CRISP

Vanessa Hill, MFA, MPH, PMP, Health Equity Project Manager, Sentara

Henna Qureshi, DO, FAAP, Pediatrician, Inova Cares Clinic for Children, Health Equity- Physician Lead, Community Health and Health Equity, Inova Health Systems

Janee Tyus, Senior Program Director, Mid-Michigan Community Health Access Program, Greater Flint Health Coalition

Health Equity Alliances and Coalitions:

Luis Belen, Chief Executive Officer, National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved

June Simmons, President and CEO, Partners in Care Foundation

Laurie Whitsel, PhD, National Vice President-Policy Research and Translation, Senior Advisor- Physical Activity Alliance, American Heart Association

Heather Black, Vice President, 211 System Strategy, United Way Worldwide

Standard Development Organizations (SDO) Panelists:

Rachel Harrington, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, NCQA

Dan Vreeman, DPT, Chief Standards Development Officer, HL7

Shawn Griffin, MD,  President and CEO, URAC

Margaret Weiker, Vice President, Standards Development, NCPDP

Gary Puckrein, PhD, President and CEO, National Minority Quality Forum

Addressing Health Inequity In and With the Community

Mark Scrimshire, Chief Interoperability Officer, Onyx

Errol Blake, Director of Product Innovation, Onyx

Kenneth Crawford, Developer, Onyx

Day 2, February 13, 2024:

On Day 2, attendees and presenters will work in small groups to discuss issues surrounding health disparities and how the healthcare industry, community based organizations, and health equity alliances can collaborate to address these issues through open dialogue, partnership and funding.

Small Group Topics:

• Policy
• Tribal Nations
• Care Transition and Coordination
• Introduction to the Gravity Project, FHIR and Standards
• Maternal Health
• Consent Management and Privacy
• Case Study: Severe Mortality around Breast Cancer

Facilitators:

• Alan Katz, Associate Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, Civitas Networks for Health 
• Jasmine Stewart, President, Goldbelt Apex
• Aaron Seib, Chief Data Interoperability Officer, Goldbelt Affiliates
• Jolie Ritzo, Vice President, Strategy and Network Engagement, Civitas Networks for Health
• Alix Gates, MSCAPP, MPH, Lead Health Analysis, MITRE. Facilitator PACIO Project Transitions of Care Workgroup
• Terrence O'Malley, MD< Co-Chair, PACIO Project Transition of Care Workgroup
• Liz Palena Hall, MIS< MBA, RN, Long-term and Post Acute Care Interoperability Lead, CMS Office of Burden Reduction and Health Informatics
• Lorraine Wickiser, RN, BSN, CPC-A, Nurse Consultant, CMS
• Dave Hill, BS, ECE, CS, Health Informatics Principal, MITRE, Co-founder, PACIO Project
• Marie Rivas, Director, Community Care HUB, Partners in Care
• June Simmons, President and CEO, Partners in Care Foundation
• Kendra Wyatt, CEO and Co-Founder, New Birth Company Birth Center
• Janice Ingram, Doula, Blissful Beginnings
• Rolol Mbaidjol-Kabra, MD, FACOG, System Section Chief, Inova Cares, Inova Cares Clinic for Women, Inova Fairfax Hospital
• Nichole Sweeney, JD, General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer, CRISP Shared Services

Day 2 Presenters:

PoCP and AMA; Intro the Gravity, FHIR and Standards

• Vanessa Candelora, Point-of-Care Partners
• Corey Smith, American Medical Association
• Jess Little, Civitas Networks for Health

Severe Mortality around Breast Cancer, US Oncology Network, Virginia- New Orleans Faith-based CBO

• Silas Buchanan, Our Health Ministry & Our Healthy Community
• Sagram Moodley, Ontada

Lodging Information:

There are several hotels in the vicinity of American University. Below is a list (we encourage you to conduct your own research as well)

• Courtyard by Marriott Bethesda Chevy Chase
• Glover Park Hotel Georgetown
• Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda Downtown
• Hyatt Regency Bethesda
• Omni Shoreham Hotel

Sponsorship:

Click here to download the event sponsorship prospectus to review opportunities for your organization to contribute to the agenda and demonstrate your dedication to solving health disparities.