Building Community Partnerships for Change

Location: Ballroom

Brook Belay, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Amy Collins, MD,  MetroWest Medical Center, Vanguard Health Systems
Brian Peters, Michigan Health & Hospital Association
Moderator: Gary Cohen, Founder, President, Executive Director, Health Care Without Harm

This panel will discuss the variety of ways in which community-based organizations, governmental agencies, and national initiatives can work with the health care sector and support their efforts to improve the health of the food system through activities like regional sourcing or the aggregation of institutional procurement across sectors. This discussion will focus on both activities that happen within hospitals and community-based programs in which hospitals are engaged through community benefits. 

Healthy Food: Policy at all Levels

Location: Ballroom

Erin MacDougall, PhD, Seattle-King County Public Health
Phyllis Shulman, Senior Legislative Advisor to Seattle City Council President
Moderator: David Wallinga, MD, MPA, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

As emphasized in a recent report from the Institutes of Medicine, creating a healthier food system – one that nourishes both people and the planet – requires policy change at all levels. Locally, within hospitals and communities, as well as change in policies at the regional and national levels, policy change is essential to create a new default, upstream food environment, one ensuring that the easy downstream choices by individuals are choices to access and eat healthy and sustainable foods. This session explores innovative policies from many arenas, emphasizing the role healthcare can play in spearheading positive change.

Funders Panel & Closing Remarks

Location: Ballroom

Gary Cohen, Founder, President, Executive Director, Health Care Without Harm
Gus Schumacher, Executive VP, Wholesome Wave
Olivia Farr, Board member, John Merck Fund

How can the funding community support the healthcare sector in their efforts to promote a healthy food system? How can the healthcare sector use their community benefit dollars to invest in healthy and vibrant communities? This session will explore opportunities and partnerships for the healthcare sector to place itself at the center of a new and healthy food economy.