Media invited to the 2016 Building Healthy Communities Summit, nation’s largest gathering of ethnic minority physicians

August 3, 2016

Hundreds of health professionals, community leaders, policymakers and advocates will gather September 16-18, 2016 in Newport Beach, California, when the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations (NEPO) and California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation hosts the 2016 Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Summit.

 The BHC Summit is an educational conference where health providers and community advocates discuss health issues and emerging trends that disproportionately affect communities of color.

 The theme of this year’s BHC Summit -- “Helping Health Providers Address Social Determinants of Health”—highlights emerging health policy issues, best practices for reducing health disparities, and cultural competency in clinical care.

 Featured speakers at this year’s BHC Summit include:

  • Dave Jones, JD, MPP, California Insurance Commissioner, providing the keynote address
  • Anthony Iton, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President, The California Endowment, speaking on social determinants of health: how one’s zip code is often a better indicator of health outcomes than one’s genetic code;
  • Rishi Manchanda MD, Founder of Health Begins and Author of The Upstream Doctors, speaking on the steps for communities to take an “upstream” approach to addressing health disparities;
  • George Halvorson, Chair of the First 5 Commission and Former CEO of Kaiser Permanente, speaking on how “Diversity Creates Synergy”;
  • Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, Flint water quality activist, Director of the Pediatric Residency Program at Hurley Children’s Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Michigan State University, speaking (via live video feed) on the health providers’ role in social change.

The 2016 BHC Summit will offer panel discussions and workshops on topics that will include:

  • Guiding Patients Through Advance Care Planning Conversations
  • Understanding Unconscious Bias Among Clinicians
  • Identifying Trauma in Immigrant Populations
  • Recognizing Prediabetes in Ethnic Communities
  • Confidently Providing Care for Transgender Patients
  • How Difficult Patients Impact Their Own Care

The BHC Summit will be held at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, located at 900 Newport Center Drive in Newport Beach, California on the following dates and times:

  • Friday, September 16th from 11:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.;
  • Saturday, September 17th from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.;
  • And Sunday, September 18th from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

About the Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Summit

In 2002, the California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation first called together the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations (NEPO) to focus on helping ethnic minority physicians improve efforts to address health disparities. Since then, the BHC Summit has become the largest convening of ethnic physician organizations in the country.

For more information, please visit: www.thecmafoundation.org/Programs/NEPO/Building-Healthy-Communities-Summits

 About California Medical Association Foundation (CMA Foundation)

For more than 50 years, the California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation has sought to improve individual and community health by providing a vital link between physicians and their communities.  Originally established as the charitable arm of CMA, the Foundation eventually grew into one of California’s leading advocates for community health.  By launching groundbreaking efforts, such as tobacco education in the mid-1990s, and partnering with health professionals such as pharmacists, nurses and medical assistants, the CMA Foundation has cemented itself as a leader in improving the health of California’s residents.

For more information, visit www.thecmafoundation.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.