Saturday, April 22

The Exhibit Hall will be open 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. for networking and finding new resources.

7-8:30 a.m.

Breakfast buffet available

Sponsored by Journal of the American Osteopathic Association

Grand C
Exhibit Hall

9-10:20 a.m.

Freelance: Strategies for keeping your career fresh and rewarding

Freelancing can be tough. The challenges, at mid-career, may feel greater than the rewards of being your own boss. So how do you find inspiration to boost your freelancing up a notch or two? A top freelancer and top editor will share their stories and strategies on how to pitch top-tier publications from their perspectives, and how to keep the strong writer/editor relationships that will keep your career fresh and rewarding. Panelists representing two prestigious fellowship organizations will discuss how to find and land a journalism fellowship, with specific advice tailored to freelancers.

• Sara Austin, executive editor, Real Simple

• Laura Beil, independent journalist

• Lynette Clemetson, director, Wallace House for Knight-Wallace fellowships and the Livingston Awards, University of Michigan

• Katti Gray, independent journalist

• Moderator: Bara Vaida, independent journalist

Grand A

Medicare: Tilting toward privitization

Experts will discuss how Medicare's potential money shortfalls, the options for solving the problem and the government's push toward privatizing a popular public insurance program. You'll learn to evaluate claims and more information for coverage that moves beyond the sound bites and how Medicare changes affects your local health care providers and future users of the program. #AHCJmedicare

• Bill McKendree, director, APPRISE program

• Marilyn Moon, Ph.D., institute fellow and director, Center on Aging, American Institutes for Research

• Stacy Sanders, federal policy director, Medicare Rights Center

• Moderator: Trudy Lieberman, contributing editor, Columbia Journalism Review

Salon 1

Bending the cost curve: The social determinants of health

Addressing social determinants of health — the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age — could be the next great leap in improving the nation’s health. Despite advances in medical care, studies suggest it only accounts for as little as 15 percent of populations' health, leaving social determinants to shape the rest. Behavior represents the single greatest area of influence on health and accounts for 40 percent of early U.S. deaths. Research shows that the most consistent predictor of likely death in any given year is not blood pressure, weight or cholesterol, but level of education. Yet most health systems have had little influence in addressing such powerful, but non-medical, factors. Explore how understanding this relationship to health care and employing available data can affect care and patient outcomes. #AHCJSDOH

• Jay Bhatt D.O., senior vice president and chief medical officer, American Hospital Association

• Rebecca Morley, director, Health Impact Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts

• Moderator: Susan Heavey, AHCJ topic leader/social determinants; reporter, Reuters

Salon 3

Changing medical education through innovation

Medical schools are changing how they deliver their education. This panel focuses on experts discussing the medical training of the future, creating a new generation of health care providers and preparing doctors — in greater numbers — for new technologies and methods. They will need to have a whole new set of experiences – with the addition of genomics and other approaches to medical education. These concepts teach the next generation of doctors what the best way is to deliver care.

• Deborah German, M.D., dean, University of Central Florida College of Medicine

• Michele Halyard, M.D., interim dean, Mayo Medical School

• Frederic Schwartz D.O., F.A.C.O.F.P., senior adviser to dean and professor, School of Osteopathic Medicine, A.T. Still University

• Moderator: Andrew Seaman, senior medical journalist, Reuters Health

Salon 10

10:40 a.m.-noon

Zika year 2: Covering disease outbreaks

The arrival of non-travel related Zika in the United States in 2016 changed the way health professionals and the American media dealt with the disease. And as another summer approaches, health professionals focused on preventing Zika’s spread and health journalists trying to accurately inform the public about the risks face more challenges. They’ll be following infection trends, as well as fast-track vaccine research and the debate over using genetically-modified mosquitos. #AHCJZika

• Sammy Mack, reporter, WLRN-Miami and Health News Florida

• Glenn Morris M.D., director, Emerging Pathogens Institute, and professor of medicine, University of Florida

• Derric Nimmo, principal scientist, Oxitec

• Moderator: Mary Shedden, news director, WUSF Public Media

Grand A

Cops, courts, jails, prisons and the mentally ill – changes and challenges

Mental health care costs are consuming more and more of states’ and counties’ correctional system, police and other criminal justice budgets. Meanwhile, specially trained police officers, social workers, case workers, mental health court judges and mental health advocates are working to keep out from behind bars individuals who can be appropriately handled within the community. There are successes and obstacles for health professionals managing pre-trial detainees and convicted persons with mental illness. #AHCJmentalillness

• Susan Brown, captain and crisis intervention team coordinator, Orlando Police Department

• Dionne Hart, M.D., adult, community and correctional psychiatrist; founder, Care for the Hart; adjunct assistant professor, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

• Robert T Russell, J.D., presiding judge, Buffalo (N.Y.) City Court Mental Health Treatment Court

• Risdon Slate, Ph.D., director, Department of Criminology, Florida Southern College

• Moderator: Katti Gray, independent journalist

Grand B

What the value in value-based care really means

The term “value-based care” describes a new approach to paying for and delivering health care. Although this term is used widely, there is little agreement about how health insurers and providers define the word “value.” Panelists will explain how physicians and hospitals deliver greater value today for patients and insurers and how they each define “value.” #AHCJvalue

• David J. Bailey M.D., M.B.A., president and chief executive officer, Nemours Foundation

• Robert M. Pearl, M.D., executive director and chief executive officer, The Permanente Medical Group; chairman, Council of Accountable Physician Practices

• Laura C. Wooster, M.P.H., senior vice president, public policy; American Osteopathic Association

• Moderator: Joseph P. Burns, AHCJ topic leader/insurance; independent journalist

Salon 1

Nutrition and the evolving American diet

From the “Food pyramid” to “MyPlate,” the federal government has been telling Americans how to eat for decades. But with a bombardment of research, how do we better understand the machinations of dietary recommendations, who has a hand in it, which research should we trust and how are health professionals translating this information for their patients? This panel sifts through the noise to answer these questions with a look to the future of the American diet. #AHCJdiet

• Tiffany Lowe-Payne, D.O., family physician and chief executive officer, The Institute of Transformational Health and Wellness; assistant professor, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine

• Leslie Mikkelsen, R.D., M.P.H., managing director, Prevention Institute

• Walter C Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., professor of epidemiology and nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School

• Moderator: Kristofor Husted, reporter, Harvest Public Media and KBIA; adjunct instructor, Missouri School of Journalism

Salon 3

Humanizing medicine in a high-tech world

As society become more high-tech savvy and dependent, are doctors losing their ability to connect with patients? This panel will explore that question from speakers who’ll address what medical schools are doing to produce high-tech doctors who also have a human heart, how radiology teams are using technology and planning to ease procedures for children, and how transplant doctors generate unique relationships with patients, frequently following them for life. Bring your questions to help find stories in your own community about the merging of technology and doctor-patient relationships. #AHCJhumanizing

• Analia Castiglioni, M.D., director, Clinical Skills and Simulation Center and associate professor, University of Central Florida College of Medicine

• Bobby Nibhanupudy, M.D., general surgeon, Florida Hospital

• Daniel J. Podberesky, M.D., radiology department chair, Nemours Children's Health System

• Moderator: Ken Alltucker, health reporter, The Arizona Republic

Salon 10

Noon

Awards Luncheon

Journalists who did the best work of 2016 will be recognized with the annual Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.

More than a meal: Serving up a health care solution

For millions of Americans, Meals on Wheels is more than just a food delivery service. It can be eyes and ears in the home – where much of health care happens – and perhaps be the difference between remaining independent and relocating to a nursing facility. This network has launched an initiative to formalize the health and safety checks its volunteers conduct during their daily home visits to seniors. The aim: Improve health outcomes and quality of life for an extremely vulnerable population, while reducing risks, hospital readmissions and overall health care costs. Hear from Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels about efforts to integrate the tried and true “more than just a meal” model into health care as the rapidly growing senior population is poised to almost double by 2050 and the need for services will continue to rise.

• Ellie Hollander, president and chief executive officer, Meals on Wheels America

Lunch will be served from noon-12:30 p.m. and attendees must have a luncheon ticket to receive a meal.

Grand D

2-2:50 p.m.

Exhibit Crawl / Dessert

Sponsored by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Grand C

3-4:20 p.m.

Journalists share lessons from covering domestic mass violence

It’s one thing to learn about a mass violence event in another city, state or country. It’s another thing when it happens in your hometown. Like the rest of the community, you’re in shock and grieving. But as a journalist, you have to get out there and cover the tragedy. During this panel, reporters and editors talk about their experience and lessons learned from covering the Boston Marathon bombings and the Pulse shooting during days and month that followed. #AHCJmassviolence

• Gideon Gil, managing editor, enterprise and partnerships, Stat

• Christal Hayes, breaking news reporter, Orlando Sentinel

• Kathleen McGrory, health and medicine reporter, Tampa Bay Times

• Moderator: Naseem S. Miller, reporter, Orlando Sentinel

Grand A

New health challenges for refugees and undocumented immigrants

With more than 11 million undocumented immigrants and 3 million refugees in the United States, how will changes to health care and immigration policy affect these vulnerable communities? Hear directly from a refugee and a panel of experts. This panel will give a baseline understanding of the intersection of two fragmented systems: health care and immigration. Attendees will come away armed with solid story ideas and new, unexplored angles in the health care debate. #AHCJimmigrants

• Nancy Berlinger, Ph.D., M.Div., research scholar, The Hastings Center

• Joan Flocks, J.D., director, Social Policy Division Center for Governmental Responsibility, University of Florida's Levin College of Law

• Moderator: Abe A. Aboraya, health reporter, Health News Florida and WMFE-Orlando

Grand B

Chronic pain: Why are a third of Americans suffering?

Everyone experiences pain, but when the pain doesn’t stop, it can become a disease in its own right. A complex condition involving body and mind, physiology and environment, chronic pain affects 100 million Americans. Its persistence exposes some of the health system’s deepest flaws. This panel will discuss why pain is so difficult to address, how the opioid-abuse epidemic has affected people in pain, and where to go from here. #AHCJpain

• Jodie Berry, chronic pain patient

• Daniel B. Carr, M.D., president, American Academy of Pain Medicine; director, Tufts Program on Pain Research, Education and Policy

• Katherine S. Salamon, Ph.D., pain psychologist, Integrated Pain and Wellness Program, Nemours/AI duPont Hospital for Children

• Moderator: Felice J. Freyer, health care reporter, The Boston Globe

Salon 1

Regenerative medicine: The promise and the reality

The science of restoring organ health is steadily coming of age – poised to revolutionize medical care and alleviate suffering in unprecedented ways. Separating hype from true hope is paramount to advancing the field for the well-being of patients and society. How can journalists provide a trusted voice to distinguish unsupported claims from validated achievements that are transforming the medical horizon? #AHCJregmed

• C. Randal Mills, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

• Brock Reeve, M.Phil., M.B.A., executive director, Harvard Stem Cell Institute

• Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., director, Center for Regenerative Medicine and professor of medicine and pharmacology, Mayo Clinic

• Moderator: Barbara P. Smith, aging reporter and health editor, Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune

Salon 3

New efforts to keep seniors living independently

Recent research has shown that treating low-income seniors with chronic medical conditions in their homes not only improves health outcomes, but saves taxpayers money. Access to nutrition and quality housing has been proven to keep seniors out of hospitals and nursing homes, while improving care. This session focuses on innovative health delivery models like physician house calls and CAPABLE (Community Aging in Place-Advancing Better Living for Seniors), as well as surprising research about the role of food and nutrition in maintaining seniors’ health and independence. #AHCJseniors

• Thomas Cornwell, M.D., chief executive officer, Home Centered Care Institute

• Sarah Szanton, Ph.D., professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

• Moderator: Mark Taylor, independent journalist
  

Salon 10

4:40-6 p.m.

Incorporating images and sounds on the health beat

Video and audio aren’t just for television and radio reporters anymore. Demand for web videos and podcasts mean that covering the story means getting pictures and sounds that will grab and hold your audience. We will show examples to emulate and talk about how to play to the strengths of each medium. The panel includes veteran television reporters as well as an experienced journalist who made the leap from text-based reporting to audio visual storytelling. #AHCJvideoaudio

• Daylina Miller, multimedia journalist, Health News Florida and WUSF-Tampa Public Media

• Joy Robertson, co-host, Ozarks Live, KOLR-Springfield, Mo.

• Moderator: Andrew Holtz, M.P.H., chief, HoltzReport; reviewer, HealthNewsReview.org

Grand A

Staying on course in a sea of patient activism

“Fluoride is dangerous.” “Long-term antibiotics are needed for lingering symptoms of Lyme disease.” “Vaccines cause autism.” Those are just a few ideas not backed by scientific evidence but pushed by patient activists. Often these views influence perceptions and policy in ways that harm public health, and they shouldn't be ignored. Experienced journalists will offer ideas on how to understand the driving forces behind nonscientific ideas, write about them without resorting to false equivalence, and deal constructively with backlash. Audience members will be encouraged to share their own experiences in an open discussion. #AHCJpatientactivism

• Mike Stobbe, Dr.P.H., medical writer, The Associated Press

• Lauren M. Whaley, multimedia journalist; MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow

• Erik Vance, science writer

• Moderator: Mary Chris Jaklevic, independent journalist

Grand B

Oral health stories to watch in 2017

Our panel of experts will offer a wide-ranging discussion of important stories unfolding in the world of oral health. Expect tips on everything from the future of dental benefits under federal programs including Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP to updates on state debates over workforce expansion to news about breakthroughs that could transform the ways that dental care services are delivered. #AHCJoralhealth

• Mary E. Foley, R.D.H., M.P.H., executive director, Medicare and Medicaid CHIP Services Dental Association

• Jane Grover, D.D.S., M.Ph., director, Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention, American Dental Association

• Jane Koppelman, director, Research Dental Campaign, The Pew Charitable Trusts

• Mary Otto, AHCJ topic leader/oral health; independent journalist

Salon 1

What's ahead for Medicaid?

With 70 million enrollees and its leading role in Obamacare and in state budgets, the government health program for the poor has never been as much in the spotlight. This panel will help you learn how to cover your state Medicaid program, understand who wins and loses if Congress changes how the entitlement program is financed and look at states’ efforts to save money and improve care. And it will help you find the untold stories beyond the political talking points. #AHCJMedicaid

• Andy Schneider, research professor, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families

• Tony Keck, senior vice president, chief development officer, Mountain States Health Alliance

• Christine Sexton, reporter, Politico

• Moderator: Phil Galewitz, senior correspondent, Kaiser Health News

Salon 3

The latest look at obesity

People are desperate to lose weight. What are medical professionals doing to help them? Medicine has traditionally been late to the table with it comes to obesity, which now affects more than one-third of adults and 17 percent of children. Those rates are significantly higher for African-Americans, Hispanics and men. Since the American Medical Association officially recognized obesity as a disease in 2013, the medical community has upped its game, and there are interesting new stories to tell about how doctors are tackling “sitting disease,” how medical schools are training new doctors to treat obesity, and how nutritionists are working with children and their families to make sure obesity doesn’t become a lifelong burden. This panel will also review the latest evidence and recommendations for the treatment of obesity. #AHCJobesity

• Mandy Layman, M.S., R.D., registered dietitian, Nemours Children's Health System

• James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., endrocrinologist, Mayo Clinic in Arizona

• Magdalena Pasarica, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine

• Moderator: Brenda Goodman, senior news writer, WebMD

Salon 10

6-7 p.m.

“Salute to Health Journalism” reception

Grand Ballroom Foyer

Sunday, April 23

7:30-8:45 a.m.

Breakfast buffet available

Grand C Exhibit Hall

9-10:20 a.m.

Hospital quality

Increasingly, federal programs are relying on so-called quality measures to reward or punish hospitals. What are they — and do they work? This session will bring you up to speed on the data sets the government is relying on to grade hospitals, their efficacy and which quality measures are most relevant to real people. Plus, we’ll offer a refresher on tools and websites that you can use to be the watchdog your community needs.

• Jose Figueroa, M.D., M.P.H., instructor of medicine, Harvard Medical School; associate physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital; director, BWH Residency Management Leadership Track

• Charles Ornstein, senior reporter, ProPublica

Grand A

Using public resources to find your next story

Health data and information often undergird good stories; but it can be difficult to find evidence-based resources. In this session, we suggest sources of evidence-based information and data from PubMed, PubMed Health, and other U.S. government sources, as well as other publicly available sites that allow reporters to see how scientists discuss and track evidence such as clinical trials and FDA documents in real time. Come with your laptops or tablets – this is a hands-on session to help you navigate and personalize the use of National Library of Medicine and other web-based resources. The presenters will help beginners in one part of the session as well as devote some time to assist more advanced users. #AHCJresources

• Ivan Oransky, M.D., distinguished writer in residence, New York University Arthur Carter Journalism Institute; co-founder, Retraction Watch; columnist, Stat; editor at large, MedPage Today

• Robert Logan, Ph.D., communication research scientist, senior staff, U.S. National Library of Medicine

Grand B

Tackling big projects in small newsrooms

Health reporters in smaller newsrooms often must do daily and weekly stories, and cover other topics. It can be difficult to carry out projects, but some find ways to do it. Hear tips from reporters who have dug into organ transplants, rural health care, child abuse in group homes, lavish spending by medical center boards and other topics. #AHCJprojects

• Eric Eyre, staff writer, Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette-Mail

• Markian Hawryluk, health reporter, Bend (Ore.) Bulletin

• Bram E. Sable-Smith, health and wealth reporter, KBIA/Side Effects Public Media

• Lauren Sausser, health reporter, The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier

• Moderator: David Wahlberg, health reporter, Wisconsin State Journal

Grand D

10:40 a.m.-noon

Hospital finance

Hospitals stand to lose big financially if the Affordable Care Act is repealed or scaled down. A pullback in Medicaid expansion would likely cause the number of uninsured patients to soar, putting the fiscal burden for their care back on hospitals. Changes could also unleash new and creative ways for care to be structured. This session will give you the tools to understand hospital finances and get financial results soon enough so you can see what is happening to your hospitals in a timely way. We will discuss how to find key records and experts and suggest many practical story ideas. #AHCJhospital

• Karl Stark, assistant managing editor, business and health; The Philadelphia Inquirer

• Samuel H. Steinberg, Ph.D., L.F.A.C.H.E., hospital consultant, S.H. Steinberg Consulting LLC

Grand A

Freelance: The best career hacks (crowdsourced and more)

As you struggled through transcribing interviews or crafting the perfect pitch, did you ever wonder if someone else had figured out a better strategy? This panel was shaped by the questions and tips we received from dozens of freelancers in our online survey. We will share secrets of successful freelancers, answers from editors and solutions to common freelance frustrations. From time management to useful tools, our panel of experts will address your burning questions. #AHCJhack

• Brooke Borel, independent journalist, New York; contributing editor, Popular Science; author

• Emily Gurnon, senior content editor, health and caregiving, PBS Next Avenue

• Tara Haelle, AHCJ topic leader/medical studies; independent journalist, Peoria, Ill.

• Moderator: Michele Cohen C Marill, independent journalist, Atlanta

Grand B

Best practices in multi-newsroom collaborations

Collaboration, not competition, is a way media outlets can produce journalism that better serves our audiences. Local and national journalists are partnering to produce in-depth health care journalism for print, broadcast and online. Panelists with first-hand experience will share the benefits and challenges of sharing physical and virtual newsrooms, methods for communication, and how relationships with colleagues in different mediums can strengthen coverage and reporting skills. #AHCJnewscollab

• Daniel Chang, staff writer, The Miami Herald

• Giselle Grayson, senior producer, NPR

• Rachel O'Hara, multimedia journalist, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; editor-in-chief, unravel

• Diane Webber, health policy journalist, Kaiser Health News

• Moderator: Daylina Miller, multimedia journalist, Health News Florida and WUSF-Tampa Public Media

Grand D