A key activity of LHC has been an annual trip for a delegation of 100 LHC members to Washington, D.C.
“The main objective of the delegation is to familiarize the next generation of health care leaders with the health care policy environment and to encourage them to participate in the policymaking process,” says Caroline Young, President of the Nashville Health Care Council.
LHC delegates included 88 people from Nashville and 12 people from other parts of the country who hold leadership positions across the health care industry in professions such as hospital management, outpatient care, disease management and health information technology, just to name a few. Lawyers, accountants and other experts supporting the health care industry were also part of the delegation.
While in DC, delegates saw many prominent experts speak on health care policy, including recently appointed ONC Coordinator Farzad Mostashari, M.D.; Carmella Bocchino, Executive Vice President, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP); Ceci Connolly, Senior Advisor, McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform; and Michael Hash, Director, Office of Health Reform, HHS; and political analyst, author and Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics Larry Sabato.
“We heard from several representatives from the state of Tennessee, including Rep. Jim Cooper [D-TN], Sen. Bob Corker [R-TN], Sen. Lamar Alexander [R-TN] and Rep. Diane Black [R-TN],” says delegate Melissa Waddey, Senior Director for the Strategic Resource Group, LifePoint Hospitals from Brentwood, TN. “Getting their perspective – not just on health care but also on what’s going on in the government right now with the budget crisis – was a unique experience. We don’t get the opportunity to hear from our representatives in one room at the same time.”
Attendees also had the chance to interact with one another and discuss their thoughts on health care policy.
“We were there for two days, and the same group of individuals had the opportunity to sit through all of these presentations together,” says delegate Michele Peden, Vice President of Corporate Communications, IASIS Healthcare Corporation. “We were able to go from session to session and speaker to speaker together and have the conversation continue between sessions, in the hallways and over dinner. We were able to build the conversation and continue the learning beyond one speaker or one topic.”
With an eye toward the future, the 2011 LHC Delegation to Wall Street will be September 22 and 23. The biennial event introduces delegates to health care sector deal-making trends and provides an insider’s perspective on the state of the capital markets. Similar in size and schedule to the D.C. Delegation, the Wall Street Delegation also provides delegates the opportunity to learn from leading financial sector experts.
For additional information about LHC, visit healthcarecouncil.com or contact the Nashville Health Care Council at (615) 743-3140.
Source: MD News