FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                              Contact Info: Phillip Polakoff

December 4, 2018                                                                   Phone: 510-508-9216

A Healthier WE Announces Inaugural Healthier Rural West Summit

Transitioning from Crisis to Wellbeing: The Summit will bring together more than 400 key stakeholders to address challenges facing the health and wellbeing of America’s rural West

SAN FRANCISCO – Residents in the rural American West face many challenges in living healthfully, accessing healthcare, and receiving appropriate care. Healthcare stakeholders will soon be meeting to discuss how to address these unique challenges while proposing solutions in an inaugural summit.   

A Healthier WE, a nonprofit organization which is a catalyst for finding innovative solutions and opportunities through partnerships and collaborations among changemakers, announces the Healthier Rural West Summit. This inaugural event addresses key challenges to the health and wellbeing of the rural American West by offering an inspiring vision of rural cooperation and leadership in the coming information and health economies. 

The Summit, in collaboration with Founding Sponsor, Intermountain Healthcare, will be held on March 19-21, 2019 at Little America in Salt Lake City, Utah. The summit will include 40+ speakers who will discuss, debate and offer incubator initiatives focusing on solving the health, economic and environmental crises in the rural American West. https://healthierruralwestsummit.org/

Confirmed speakers include:

  • David Kennedy, PhD, Co-Founder, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University
  • Lynn Gallagher, JD, Cabinet Secretary of Health, State of New Mexico
  • Marc Harrison, MD, President and CEO Intermountain Healthcare
  • Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands, State of Washington
  • Spencer Cox, Lt. Governor, State of Utah

“At Intermountain Healthcare, we are interested in community health, particularly on how healthcare systems can play a role in having a positive impact on the many determinants of health,” said Mikelle Moore, Intermountain Healthcare’s Senior Vice President of Community Health.

“We are anticipating engaging discussions and key take-aways we can apply to supporting the health of rural community members because of the summit.”

In a highly participative format, more than 400 state and local government officials, nonprofit, faith and community activists, health system payors and providers, physicians, nurses and health caregivers, technology and business innovators, along with academic and thought leaders, will listen to inspiring talks and participate in interactive sessions to formulate successful strategies for creating wellbeing in the West.

This event is designed to foster a collaborative and critical problem-solving environment, focused on dialogue and action.  Building on the theme of Transitioning from Crisis to Wellbeing, the outcomes will focus on four main health action pillars:

  • Creating Healthier, More Equitable Communities
  • Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration
  • Making Health a Shared Value
  • Strengthening Integration of Health Services and Systems

Phil Polakoff, MD, CEO of A Healthier WE and Consulting Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, said “We are excited to partner with key stakeholders in rural health and healthcare. We look forward to forming critical relationships with the wide range of leaders who are committed to transitioning from crisis to wellbeing.”

We invite you to learn more about attending, sponsoring or participating in the Summit by visiting: www.healthierruralwestsummit.org.   In these times, when ‘I’ is replaced with ‘WE’, even illness becomes wellness.”  We can only work towards a healthier rural West together.

About A Healthier WE: A Healthier WE, is a nonprofit organization which is a catalyst for finding innovative solutions and opportunities through partnerships and collaborations among changemakers.