AHCJ conference in Austin, April 28-May 1

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will be the featured keynote speaker at Health Journalism 2022 in Austin.

The conference will be held April 28-May 1 at the Hilton Austin. The hotel is attached to the Austin Convention Center via a covered walkway — two blocks from East Sixth Street nightlife and less than a mile from the picturesque Rainey Street Historic District.

As the leader of CMS, Brooks-LaSure plays a key role in shaping the federal response to some of the nation’s most pressing issues in health care, including the continuing response to the pandemic. Addressing health inequities has also been at the top of her priority list. In her testimony tothe Senate Finance Committee in April 2021, Brooks-LaSure — the first Black woman to lead CMS — emphasized the need to “expand access to quality care for all communities.”

Two field trips were being planned to sites in Austin where innovations are happening in research, clinical and community environments, including:

• The VISLAB at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, University of Texas, which creates visualizations to support research and presents them on one of the world’s largest high-resolution tiled displays.

• Community First! Village, a 51-acre master planned, innovative model community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. A development of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, this transformative residential program exists to love and serve people who have been living on the streets, while also empowering the surrounding community into a lifestyle of service with the homeless.

• A collaborative treatment center at Dell Medical Center that illustrates how thoughtful design can change the patient experience.

• A visit to the biomedical/biomechanical lab of Dr. James Sulzer at UT-Austin (recently profiled in The Atlantic magazine) where he and his team attempt to fill knowledge gaps related to stroke recovery and the development of new rehabilitation strategies.

• Lone Star Circle of Care in Taylor, Texas, a community anchor and health hub that attempts to move as far upstream in the social determinants of health “river” as possible and create access to care for families along the continuum – from birth to older adults.

Field trips and workshops will be followed by a newcomer session, a kickoff plenary session, and a “Welcome to Austin” reception.

Panels, popular events and new features

This three-and-a-half-day conference will be packed with panels and workshops led by journalists and world-class speakers about a wide range of topics including:

• New abortion laws and their likely impact on women’s reproductive health

• The future of public health and pandemics – are we any better off today than we were in March 2020?

• An extensive look at patient safety 10 years after the infamous “Dr. Death” case

• How to cover the LGBTQ community

• How research in medical science has been affected in some positive ways by the pandemic

• Reframing gun violence as a public health issue

• The quest for COVID-19 data: Where “official sources” fell short and others stepped in

• The sex gap: How male-centric medicine hurts everyone

• How to help your readers understand the “information blocking” rule and how it relates to patient safety

• Hospital ransomware attacks: Why they’re happening and what can be done about them

• The climate crisis, public health and deepening inequities

• How to track “dark money” from Big Pharma.

The conference exhibit hall opens Friday, April 29, creating informal networking opportunities for attendees and the chance to win prizes. PitchFest — a conference favorite — will take place that afternoon. As always, attendees will be able to pitch story ideas to editors and walk away with assignments. AHCJ’s annual membership meeting is set for early evening on Friday.

Saturday, April 30, the final full day of the conference, will include several “how-to” sessions and the awards luncheon, which celebrates the best health care reporting.

On Sunday morning, May 1, after a session on reporter self-care, AHCJ core topic leader for infectious diseases Bara Vaida will lead a yoga session, so bring your mat and wind down before you head home.

Registrants unable to attend the conference in person will have access to some live-streamed events and sessions via the Whova app including, the opening night plenary session, the membership meeting, the awards luncheon and 10 panel discussions.