Post Conference Highlights

The Association for Community Health Improvement held its 4th annual national conference on March 7-9, 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Conference participants shared and explored national and local best practices with real results and lessons.

Keynote Sessions

	Re-creating New Orleans' Communities, Health and Health Care Rep. Cheryl Artise Gray (Louisiana House of Representatives) John J. 'Jack' Finn, PhD (Metropolitan Hospital Council of New Orleans) Eric Baumgartner, MD, MPH (Louisiana Public Health Institute) Click here for an audio clip (1.5 min/520 KB) Rep. Cheryl Gray on health coverage reform after Hurricane Katrina. Click here for an audio clip (2 min/670 KB) Jack Finn sharing disaster preparation lessons from Hurricane Katrina.
Maximizing Physical Activity: From People to Policy Mark Fenton, MS Click here for an audio clip (2 min/745 KB) Mark Fenton discussing results of a physical activity intervention.	Mark Fenton dancing with Bamboula
	A Consensus Policy Proposal to Cover the Uninsured, and a Consumer Advocate's Perspective Ron Pollack (Families USA) Click here for an audio clip (2 min/740 KB) Ron Pollack on national uninsured conditions.

ACHI members and conference attendees can access the full length Keynote Session audio recordings. To learn how, please email communityhlth@aha.org.

Breakout Sessions

Check out these ASACB and YOLC Breakout Sessions.

• Beyond Counting: Governance, Management, and Community Benefit Leadership
• An Innovative Approach to Diabetes Screening and Prevention in Youth
• Youth Obesity Prevention in Schools and Communities

To purchase a CD-ROM and the conference handbook with all the breakout session presentations, e-mail communityhlth@aha.org. (While supplies last.)

New Orleans Volunteer Day

Thank you to our 35 conference participants who contributed their time and labor to helping rebuild a New Orleans children's shelter. The post-conference community service activity was a great success!

Conference Value

The conference offered opportunities to:

• Bring home practical strategies and tactics you can use
• Build bridges with peers in health care, public health, healthy communities, and philanthropy
• Engage and grow in sessions where everyone is a participant
• Gain skills and insights with national experts and capable peers
• Exchange ideas and experiences to help you develop new perspectives and approaches

Who Attended

The conference community included a rich array of more than 450 committed health leaders from across the U.S. and Canada. This boundary-crossing conference's attendees included:

• Community health and community benefit leaders in hospitals, health systems, health plans and other health care organizations
• Public health department directors and health promotion managers
• Healthy communities directors and community advocates
• Coalition members of access to care and disease prevention institutes
• Executives of national and state health associations
• Foundation leaders and social entrepreneurs

Photo Credit: Ron Graybill and Sarah Guerin