3:59 p.m., Feb. 24, 2009----"Stronger Health-Based Partnerships" will be the focus of a conference, scheduled from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, in Clayton Hall on the University's Laird Campus.

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The conference will bring together leaders in health education, research and services with government, business and community leaders to focus on the state and national challenges to providing outstanding health care.

Keynote speakers for the event will be Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and founder of the Center for Health Transformation. A national policy expert also will be invited to discuss the future of health policy in a time of transition.

Four panel discussions will be held throughout the day.

At 9:45 a.m., the new Delaware Health Sciences Alliance will be discussed by Robert Barchi, president of Thomas Jefferson University; Robert J. Laskowski, president and CEO of Christiana Care Health System; Tom Ferry, senior vice president of hospital operations at Nemours and CEO of A.I. du Pont Hospital for Children; and UD President Patrick Harker. UD Provost Dan Rich will moderate the discussion.

"The Alliance at Work: Implementing First-Class Health Research and Service" will be the topic of a panel beginning at 11:15 a.m. Speakers will be David Paskin, senior associate dean of graduate medical education at Thomas Jefferson University; Nicholas Petrelli, medical director of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center, Christiana Care Health System; Ayyappan Rajasekaran, director of the Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research; Steven J. Stanhope, interim dean of UD's College of Health Sciences; and Karl Steiner, associate provost for interdisciplinary research at the University of Delaware. Moderator will be Brian Little, vice president for academic affairs and research at Christiana Care Health System.

At 1:30 p.m., a panel will discuss "Providing High-Quality, Affordable and Accessible Services." Speaking will be Mark L. Tykocinski, dean of Jefferson Medical College; Debbie Chang, senior vice president and executive director of Nemours Health and Prevention Services; Nicholas O. Biasotto, president of the Medical Society of Delaware; and Dennis Klima, president and CEO of Bayhealth Medical Center. Jeffrey Fried, president and CEO of Beebe Medical Center will moderate.

The fourth panel discussion, beginning at 3:30 p.m., will focus on "National and State Innovation: Quality, Costs and Accessibility of Services." Speaking will be Tim Gardner, medical director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana Care and president of the American Heart Association; Timothy Constantine, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware; Rita Landgraf, secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services; Lolita A. Lopez, president and CEO of WestSide Family Healthcare; and Richard C. Wender, chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and past president of the American Cancer Society. Moderator will be John H. Taylor Jr., executive director of the Delaware Public Policy Institute.

Cost of the conference is $50, and interested persons may register online at [www.udel.edu/partnerships]. Registration deadline is March 20.

A limited amount of space is available at the conference for exhibitors and vendors. For more information, go to [www.udel.edu/partnerships] or call Gail Knapp in UD Conference Services at (302) 831-8590.

In addition to the University of Delaware, the conference co-sponsors include the Governor's Office, AstraZeneca, Thomas Jefferson University, Christiana Care Health System, Nemours, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, the Medical Society of Delaware, the Delaware Public Policy Institute, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, Bayhealth Medical Center, Beebe Medical Center, St. Francis Hospital, the News Journal, Delaware Technical and Community College and Delaware State University.

The March 24 event is the fourth in a series of UD conferences designed to engage education, government, community and business leaders in the challenges and opportunities for partnership of topics of significant importance to our shared community.

Photo by Calista Gingrich, Gingrich Productions