Nevada Population Health Conference was named the Community Outreach recipient in the 12th edition of Health Care Headliners by VEGAS INC. Health Care Headliners honors leading medical professionals in Southern Nevada’s healthcare industry. The results were collected from nominations submitted to VEGAS INC online.
VEGAS INC shares in their April 26 article, “Health Care Headliners: Honoring the best and brightest medical professionals in Southern Nevada,” the following summary on the Nevada Population Health Conference:
In 2016, a number of agencies wanted a way to address the health of the Nevada community by studying social issues.
That group — Holland & Hart; UnitedHealthCare; UNR School of Medicine; UNLV School of Community Health Sciences; UNLV Health Law Program; William S. Boyd School of Law; UNLV School of Medicine; State Bar of Nevada Insurance and Health Law Section; Nevada Bar Foundation; Nevada Public Health Association; Nevada State Medical Association; and the Clark County Medical Society — addressed those issues by launching the Nevada Population Health Conference.
Population health addresses multiple elements that influence overall wellness — public health programs, social factors (income, education, employment, social support and culture), the physical environment (urban design, clean air and water), biological factors and individual behavior.
“Our conference is a multidisciplinary effort that includes doctors, lawyers, health plan (administrators), public health professionals, educators, legislators and students discussing ways the community can connect to address a patient’s social needs thereby leading to improved health,” said Connie Akridge, administrative partner with Holland & Hart, who leads the conference committee.
The group also supports the operation and creation of medical-legal partnerships in Nevada. The premise of an MLP is that legal issues patients face may affect their health. Until last year when Nevada’s first MLP was created with a partnership between Washoe Legal Services and the Hopes Clinic in Reno, Nevada was one of a handful of states that didn’t have any MLPs. The group is currently working to form an MLP at the Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada Ruffin Family Clinic.
“With MLPs, health care providers serving low-income patients have another tool to offer the patient with an acute or chronic illness whose health may be adversely affected because of an imminent eviction or an illegal car repossession leaving the patient without housing or transportation to get to work,” Akridge said.
The third-annual Nevada Population Health Conference is slated for Nov. 30 at UnitedHealthcare in Las Vegas.