More than 425 public health officials to attend June 5-8 conference at Qwest Center Omaha
All roads lead to Omaha for the College World Series….and for public health.
From June 5-8, more than 425 public health experts will converge on Omaha for the annual meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories.
It will almost certainly be the largest public health conference ever held in Nebraska, said Steven Hinrichs, M.D., professor and chairman of the department of pathology and microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
“This is the first time the APHL has ever held its annual meeting in our region,” said Dr. Hinrichs, who also is director of the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory at UNMC and a member of the APHL Annual Meeting Planning Committee. “We are thrilled that Omaha was selected as the host city. It is the culmination of five years of work in making a case for Omaha and what it has to offer.”
The conference will be held at Qwest Center Omaha with the Hilton Omaha Hotel serving as the host hotel.
One of the featured speakers will be Ayman El-Mohandes, M.B.B.Ch., M.D., M.P.H., dean of the UNMC College of Public Health, which opened its new building – the Harold M. and Beverly Maurer Center for Public Health – last month.
Dr. El-Mohandes will deliver the Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecture from 2 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7, in Grand Ballroom C of Qwest Center Omaha. His speech will deal with democracy and public health and how leadership and governance can impact the health of individuals and populations. He will discuss how empowerment is essential for resource poor countries reaching their public health goals.
Topics to be discussed at this year’s meeting include environmental issues, emerging infectious diseases, emergency preparedness, informatics, food safety, newborn screening and global health, said Jody DeVoll, director of strategic communications for the APHL.
“We’re looking forward to a great conference in Omaha,” DeVoll said. “We think it will be a first class venue for our members.”
She said a highlight activity during the conference will be a dinner and tour of the Henry Doorly Zoo on Tuesday evening.
Attendees will include public health laboratory directors on the state, county and city level, as well as individuals from organizations with a strong interest in public health laboratory issues.
The APHL mission is to promote the role of public health laboratories in shaping national and global health objectives and to promote policies, programs and technologies that assure continuous improvement in the quality of laboratory practice and health outcomes.