Prevent Blindness is hosting a summit on eye health on June 22, 2012 in Washington, DC.

Topics covered at the Summit include:

• Integrating Vision into Public Health Programs
• Economic Impact of Vision Problems
• National Plan for Eye and Vision Research

Registration is no-cost but limited: http://bit.ly/KOoZfg

Introducing the Digital Rural Advocacy Grant Program

The Institute for Emerging Issues will host a webinar to launch a new grant opportunity for rural advocacy organizations to apply digital tools.   With resources from the Kellogg Foundation, the Institute for Emerging Issues is partnering with the Center for Rural Strategies, MDC, and Network Impact, to create the Digital Rural Advocacy Grant Program.

The program will award a total of $100,000 in grants through a competitive mini-grant process in amounts up to $10,000, which must be used to enhance the work of rural policy networks in the United States.

For questions, please contact Adam Brueggemann at atbruegg@ncsu.edu

When: Friday, May 4, 2012 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. CST

For more information and to register go to http://bit.ly/Kt32Sb

Take Action Webinar Series: Work Together

County Health Rankings:  Communities vary widely, and as a result, community health improvement efforts also vary. In the midst of all this variety is one constant: people working together. With a shared vision and commitment to improved health, working together can yield better results than working alone. Learn about guidance, tools and resources for building and maintaining a diverse, multi-sector team of partners (including business, healthcare, education, government, public health, funders, community leaders/advocates).

When: Tuesday, May 8, 2012 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM CST

For more information and to register go to http://bit.ly/Ju3z5r

Engaging the Safety Net in Health Care Reform

National Academy for State Health Policy  – This webinar will summarize the deliberations and results of NASHP’s National Workgroup on Integrating a Safety Net into Health Care Reform Implementation. Over the course of nearly a year, this group of state and federal officials, national experts and associations, and safety net systems worked to identify issues and develop policy options, focusing on integrated delivery systems, workforce, and financing.

Join NASHP Executive Director, Alan Weil along with the following speakers:

• Catherine Hess, Managing Director for Coverage and Access, NASHP
• Charles Alfero, Executive Director, Hidalgo Medical Services Center for Health Innovation
• Christine Collins, Deputy Director, North Carolina Office of Rural Health and Community Care

When: Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from 2:00 PM- 3:00 PM CST

For more information and to register go to http://bit.ly/IpmEb7

Ahalaya Case Management: Creating a Circle of Care for Native Persons Living With HIV/AIDS – May 22, 2012, 1:00pm – 2:00pm Mountain Time

This webinar will provide an overview of the existing social context that presents barriers and challenges for Native people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) in accessing quality care and treatment.  It will introduce the Ahalaya Case Management Model, which was developed to help extend the lives of Native PLWHA through culturally affirming treatment and services, and to assist case managers and other service providers in becoming more culturally responsive.

Pre-registration required: http://bit.ly/IkUDRQ

The 2012 Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities is now accepting abstracts for program sessions.  All abstracts must be submitted no later than 5:00pm Eastern Time on June 15, 2012.  The Summit is organized around the core principle of integrating science, policy, and practice, and offers a forum to advance scholarship and translate new knowledge into action.  Presentation tracks include:

Capacity-Building and Infrastructure
Outreach Partnerships, Collaborations, and Opportunities
Translational and Transdisciplinary Research

The Summit will take place October 31 – November 3, 2012 in National Harbor, Maryland

For more information including abstract submission guidelines visit: http://bit.ly/KoGKRq

Or email: 2012Summit@mail.nih.gov

The 2012 National Refugee and Immigrant Conference: Issues and Innovations will hold its eighth annual conference on Thursday and Friday, October 18 and 19, 2012, in Chicago and invites you to submit conference workshop proposals. The goal of this conference is to identify issues, emphasize best practices, and highlight innovations by providing those who work with refugees and immigrants an opportunity to learn from and network with one another.

The Call for Conference Workshop Proposals is now available on the conference website at http://www.thecenterweb.org/alrc/refugee.html [Refugee Health Listserv]

“Continuity and Resiliency for Health IT Systems: Preparing for Unforeseen Events” – Friday, April 27, 2012 – 2pm Eastern

This webinar provides expert advice on how health information technology (IT) can help primary care and rural inpatient providers prepare for and overcome an unforeseen event.  When these events – such as a flood, data loss, power outage, snowstorm, or a public health crisis like an influenza outbreak – occurs, health IT systems can be a valuable tool to ensure continuity of patient care.  This is just one reason why it is critical to ensure that health IT systems are resilient and that staff can continue providing care under such circumstances.

Speakers will present case studies and lessons learned based on their own experiences of how their health IT systems helped them prepare for and overcome these events.  They will also focus on how safety net providers can build a resilient health IT infrastructure and system, as well as work with local and state government entities to prepare for an unforeseen event.  Presenters include:

• Staff from George C. Grape Community Hospital, Hamburg, Iowa
• Timothy Roark, Chief Information Officer, Georgia Primary Care Association
• Matthew J. Ziemer, Director, Emergency Management Program, Community Health Care Association of New York State

Click here to register:  http://bit.ly/JWBGEl

Questions for presenters are welcome ahead of the event and may be emailed to: healthit@hrsa.gov

A few National Library of Medicine products have been mentioned in TEDMED talks and thought it would be a good time to highlight these resources

During a talk given by John Qualter titled “Can you bring a 3-D cadaver back to life on the web?” MedlinePlus was mentioned.  MedlinePlus is a consumer health website that brings you information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues in language you can understand. MedlinePlus offers reliable, up-to-date health information, anytime, anywhere, for free.

You can use MedlinePlus to learn about the latest treatments, look up information on a drug or supplement, find out the meanings of words, or view medical videos or illustrations. You can also get links to the latest medical research on your topic or find out about clinical trials on a disease or condition.  It has health topics in multiple languages.

http://medlineplus.gov

During a talk given by Lisa Nilsson titled “Are you ready for a new slice of reality?” Lisa mentioned The Visible Human Project.  It is the creation of complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of the normal male and female human bodies.  A male and a female cadaver were cut into thin slices which were then photographed and digitized.

Check it out at http://1.usa.gov/16zeqK

Check to see if your institution (or one near you) is hosting a TEDMED Live event.  You can watch TEDMED talks live. http://www.tedmed.com/conference/live

Once the TEDMED 2012 conference has ended, TEDMED talks will be available for free at their website. http://www.tedmed.com/

TEDMED 2012 is this week!  It is April 10-13th.

I wanted to categorize this post under all of our subject headings as TEDMED will address almost all of our categories.

For those who are unfamiliar with TEDMED, it is yearly conference where leaders from all fields come together to present ideas that explore the promise of technology and human potential and achievement, specifically addressing the field of medicine.  Each presentation is time limited (generally under 30 minutes, some as short as five!) that explain the problem as well as the possible solution.

BHIC generally avoids posting conferences that have a fee to attend – however, TEDMED posts all of the presentations online so you can view them for free.  TEDMED also has a simulcast that lets Universities and other instuitions broadcast the presentaitons live for free.

Check to see if your institution is hosting a TEDMED Live Event at http://www.tedmed.com/conference/live

If not – once the conference ends all of the videos will be made available online at http://www.tedmed.com

Thursday, March 22, 2012
3:00 – 4:30 Eastern

Join the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital for its first webinar of 2012, “Diabetes: Practical Approaches to Prevention Diabetes Complications in Vulnerable Populations.” This webinar will showcase practical approaches for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in diabetes management, and innovative strateigies to address and prevent diabetes complications, with a particular focus on multicultural and minority populations.

This webinar is free and open to the public.  It will feature presentations from Athena Philis-Tsimikas, MD, Corporate Vice President at the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute; Lenny Lopez, MD, MDiv, MPH, Senior Faculty at the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Robert Havasy, project Specialist and mHealth Strategist at the Center for Connected Health at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Click on this link for registration: http://bit.ly/xrypGB
[CLASTalk list]

The theme for this year’s SOPHE (Society for Public Health Education) Midyear Conference is “Tuning Up Health Promotion: New Lyrics across the Lifespan.” Online registration is now closed, but onsite registration will be available.

Details: April 11-14, 2012, Sheraton Music City Hotel, Nashville, TN

More information: http://www.sophe.org/2012midyear.cfm