SHSMD Connections 2022: An Industry Reboot
Four keynote speakers encourage conference attendees to rebalance, reassess, rebound, and reset.
// By Jane Weber Brubaker //
The art of planning a conference involves taking the pulse of an industry, reflecting on the major themes, and creating a program that recharges attendees with inspirational ideas and the opportunity to build deeper connections with each other, and challenges them to think differently and consider fresh perspectives.
This year’s SHSMD Connections in National Harbor, Maryland did not disappoint. Coming out of two extremely challenging years marked by massive disruption, the 2022 event demonstrated the resilience of the industry and the resolve of its leaders to keep pressing forward.
Although still not all the way back to 2019 attendance levels due to budget constraints and COVID-related travel bans still in place, this year’s event did reach critical mass. There was a palpable sense of relief mixed with excitement when the group convened in a large ballroom in the Gaylord Resort & Convention Center.
The keynote sessions captured the essence of our shared experience over the past few years. A dictionary definition of keynote is the fundamental or central fact, idea, or mood.
The central ideas framed by the keynote speakers could be summed up in four words:
- Rebalance (Brigid Schulte)
- Reassess (Suneel Gupta)
- Rebound (Shola Richards)
- Reset (Alan Nevel)
Here, we’ll share highlights from these inspiring messages that challenged us to rethink our assumptions of what’s possible and renew our commitment to making health care better for all.