First-Ever Public Health Innovation Summit & Showcase Kicks Off Today in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, March 26, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The national conversation around innovation in public health will move to the center stage today as the curtain goes up on the first-ever Public Health Innovation Summit & Showcase. Scores of public health leaders and partners from around the nation are gathered in Philadelphia for the landmark event, where they will seek new ways to drive change and improve health. Hosted by the Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI), a division of the Public Health Accreditation Board, and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the March 26-27 Summit & Showcase is the first national meeting to convene thought leaders and innovators to strategize around advancing innovation in governmental public health practice. Showcasing an exciting line-up of speakers and interactive sessions, the Summit & Showcase will provide opportunities to share stories of successful innovations and invited health departments will spotlight their own innovations, including some innovations that are already being adopted by others nationwide.

"The Summit & Showcase aims to both inspire attendees and provide opportunities to learn from one another through sharing practical tips for implementing successful innovations in health departments," said PHNCI Chief Innovations Officer Jessica Solomon Fisher, MCP. "It is fitting that this inaugural Summit & Showcase is taking place in the same city that gave birth to so many amazing innovations, from the lightning rod to bifocals to the formation of a brand-new nation. Over the next two days, that same innovative spirit will drive these thought leaders to strategize, discuss, and share the ideas necessary for galvanizing the national conversation around innovation in public health."

The Summit & Showcase kicks off at 12 p.m. today with a welcome address followed by the first day's keynote speech, "What We Can Learn from Upstream Innovations in Courts and the Criminal Justice System." The keynote will be delivered by Greg Berman, Director of the Center for Court Innovation, and Julian Adler, Director of Policy and Research at the Center. The pair will share how they have worked to effect change in courts to address issues in the criminal justice system and reduce incarceration rates. As an organization addressing systems change in a bureaucratic governmental environment, they will share lessons that can be applied to governmental public health systems transformation efforts and provide inspiration to those innovating in public health.

For the second day's keynote, Jamie Jones, Principal Architect of GitHub, will provide an overview of open-source technology and how it can be leveraged to drive innovation and improve health. As the leading software development platform, GitHub is the largest open-source community in the world, with 28 million users and 57 million code repositories.

Both days of the Summit will feature additional inspiring sessions, including:

• A response panel of public health leaders to reflect on how lessons learned from other fields can be applied to public health.
• TED-style presentations featuring innovation stories from the field.
• Presentations from health departments, including perspectives from leadership and staff engaging in innovative work across the country.
• Narratives focusing on how to work across sectors to improve communities.

In addition, the Summit & Showcase will feature an opportunity for innovators to lend their expertise to the final definition of public health innovation. Also during the session, attendees will join Katie Sellers, Vice President for Impact at the de Beaumont Foundation, to celebrate and consider how the 25th anniversary of the 10 Essential Public Health Services can transform practice into the future.

"Innovation in any sector requires inspiration to transform and advance communities," said PHAB President and CEO Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN. "We are excited to be hosting PHNCI's first national convening around innovation. Showcasing these inspiring health department innovations will shine a light on how innovation in governmental public health practice improves the health and well-being of communities."

For more information, contact PHAB Communications Manager Teddi Nicolaus at (703) 778-4549 x118 or tnicolaus(at)phaboard.org.
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About the Public Health National Center for Innovations
The Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI), a division of the Public Health Accreditation Board with support and funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was established in 2015 to help foster a multi-sector learning community that will help identify and test new and innovative practices to improve public health capacity. In this role, PHNCI serves as the hub for national public health innovations.

About the Public Health Accreditation Board
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) was created to serve as the national public health accrediting body and is jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The development of national public health accreditation has involved, and is supported by, public health leaders and practitioners from the national, Tribal, state, local, and territorial levels.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has worked to improve health and health care. RWJF is working with others to build a national Culture of Health enabling everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives. For more information, visit http://www.rwjf.org.

SOURCE Public Health Innovation Summit & Showcase