Trinity to Host "Health Care 2017 & Beyond" Symposium

Trinity University's Department of Health Care Administration and the Centene Corporation of St. Louis will bring together some of the country's most prominent experts in health care delivery, policy, and administration to speak at this year's REACH Symposium: "Health Care 2017 and Beyond." The symposium, set for 8 a.m., Friday, Apr. 7, in Trinity's Ruth Taylor Recital Hall, is free, but tickets are required for entry.

Following the symposium, a lunchtime keynote will feature a presentation by Gail Wilensky, economist and senior fellow of Project HOPE. Wilensky served in the White House as a senior adviser on health and welfare issues to President George H. W. Bush. Her expertise is health care reform strategies in the United States, with particular emphasis on Medicare, comparative effectiveness research, and military health care.

The lunchtime keynote is available for a $55.00 admission fee, which includes lunch. 

The REACH Symposium will begin with a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m. followed by two panels of industry experts. Alan Weil, vice president/Editor-in-Chief of Health Affairs, will serve as discussion moderator. Health Affairs is the nation's leading peer-reviewed journal focused on the intersection of health, health care and health policy in the United States and internationally.

Weil, along with other professionals in the health care field, will explore in detail two topics: "The Evolving Health Care System" and "Engaging Patients in the Evolving Health Care System." Speakers include:

• Susan Dentzer, president and chief executive officer of the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, a not-for-profit organization that seeks intelligent ways to advance health and improve health care at sustainable costs. Dentzer is one of the nation's most respected health and health policy thought leaders and a frequent speaker and commentator on television and radio, including PBS and NPR. Dentzer previously served as senior policy adviser to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and as the on-air health correspondent for the PBS NewsHour.
• Jonathan Gruber, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. An associate editor of both the Journal of Public Economics and the Journal of Health Economics, Gruber has been heavily involved in crafting public health policy. He has been described as a key architect of both the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform and the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
• Ian Morrison, internationally known author, consultant, and futurist specializing in long-term forecasting and planning with particular emphasis on health care and the changing business environment. Morrison combines research and consulting skills with an incisive Scottish wit to help public and private organizations plan their longer-term future. He has worked with more than 100 Fortune 500 companies in health care, manufacturing, information technology, and financial services. He is author of Leading Change in Health Care: Building a Viable System for Today and Tomorrow and Healthcare in the New Millennium: Vision, Values and Leadership.
• James Merlino, president and chief medical officer of Press Ganey's strategic consulting division. An accomplished surgeon and industry leader in improving the patient experience, Merlino draws from more than two decades of health care experience to oversee Press Ganey's consultancy division. He was named to the 2013 HealthLeaders magazine's list of "20 people who make healthcare better." Previously chief experience officer at the Cleveland Clinic health system, Merlino is author of Service Fanatics: How to Build Superior Patient Experience the Cleveland Clinic Way.