The National Area Health Education Center Organization’s (NAO) bi-annual conference will be held June 10-14 at the Qwest Convention Center in Omaha.
The NAO conference is expected to draw 500 participants from around the country and is being hosted by the Nebraska AHEC Program Office at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
“The Conference will provide more than 40 health education sessions for participants to learn about distance education, health career awareness and how to improve special community needs,” said Roxanna Jokela, director of the Rural Health Education Network and deputy director of the Nebraska AHEC Program Office at UNMC.
The purpose of the NAO is to support and advance the mission of Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) and Health Education Training Centers (HETC) across the nation to improve the health of individuals and communities by transforming health care through education.
“AHECs have proven to be a key resource in meeting the health care needs of underserved communities,” said Mike Sitorius, M.D., director of the Nebraska AHEC Program Office and chairman of the UNMC Department of Family Medicine. “Hosting the 2006 NAO conference in Omaha gives our AHEC office and centers the opportunity to welcome our colleagues to Nebraska from across the U.S., Canada and Australia. We are proud of the people and cultures of our great state and want to roll out the red carpet for our special guests.”
“It is an honor to host the NAO bi-annual conference,” Jokela said. “Omaha was one of two competitive bids submitted to host the conference and our city was chosen over Las Vegas because of the impressive progress here. The four-day conference is expected to generate at least half-a-million dollars in revenue for the city,” she said.
While here conference attendees will tour Joslyn Art Museum, enjoy a recreation of the last dinner served aboard the RMS Titanic at the Renaissance Mansion, visit the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens and learn about the UNMC with tours of three key facilities: The Lied Transplant Center, the Durham Research Center and the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.
Keynote speakers:
Greg Mortenson, co-founder of the Central Asia Institute, Bozeman, Mont., 4 p.m.-6 p.m., June 11. Mortenson founded the Central Asia Institute in 1993 to promote literacy, women’s vocational skills and awareness of public health and environmental issues through educational programming in the mountainous regions of Central Asia.
Brian D. Smedley, Ph.D., research director and co-founder of The Opportunity Agenda, Washington, D.C., 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., June 12. Dr. Smedley, who formerly served in the Division of Health Sciences Policy at the Institute of Medicine, will discuss the current research on ethnic and racial disparities in health care. He also will discuss solutions that include public policy issues, clinical practice policy and the role of diversity among providers.
Suki Terada-Ports, founder and executive director of the Family Health Project, New York City, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., June 13. Terada-Ports founded the Family Health Project in 1989 to raise awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on communities of color. Her presentation will shed light on issues encountered by ethnic and racial minorities when faced with health care providers who are different from them.
Ron Gustafson, motivational speaker, Omaha, 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., June 14. A farm accident at the age of 9 took Gustafson’s right arm and shoulder and crushed his right leg. In spite of his injuries he was determined not to let this hold him back. He excelled in athletics in high school and today is a successful international businessman and motivational speaker.