The 2020 Health Connect South (HCS) annual gathering on September 24th will present a unique view into health collaborations happening across the Southeast among health systems, academia, healthcare providers, investors, health innovators and key state and national policy makers.

This year’s event—the 7^th annual—will be conducted virtually, and will feature 40 experts as speakers and panelists, including Georgia Lieutenant Governor, Geoff Duncan, as well as leaders from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and more - over a full-day agenda consisting of 17 sessions.

"We are honored that Health Connect South continues to attract and feature the most innovative partnerships across the healthcare spectrum. The goal of Health Connect South is to shine the light on the incredible partnerships and collaborations created by our health community—across disciplines," said Russ Lipari, Health Connect South Founder & CEO.

Lipari stated, "The current COVID pandemic has unquestionably acted as an accelerant of innovation in many areas but none as much as in health." He adds, "Innovation often comes at the intersection of disciplines. The partnerships featured at Health Connect South provides evidence of the importance of this intersection."  

Health Connect South 2020 will highlight the heightened collaborations among leading hospitals, featuring John Haupert, CEO of Grady Health System, Candice Saunders, CEO of WellStar Health System and Carol Burrell, CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System. Andy Miller, CEO of Georgia Health News, will moderate the session, which will reveal some of the critical behind-the-scenes collaborations health system executives actively took to help navigate the COVID19 pandemic. 

Health Connect South will also offer a unique perspective into current thinking of those driving investments in healthcare and their views on the future of healthcare delivery. Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Cox Enterprises, and Hatteras Venture Partners will discuss the health investment world: past, present and post-COVID. This all-star panel of some of the health industry's largest investment players will discuss their insights and share current thinking on the role of partnerships in the future of health investments. 

One example of health innovation featured at Health Connect South 2020 are the newly introduced Walmart Health Centers. Georgia was the very first state in the country to have Walmart Health Clinics.  The Centers are primary care clinics, encompassing diagnosis and treatment of chronic and acute illnesses, as well as preventative services, such as immunizations, physicals and additional health screening. Walmart Health partners with qualified medical professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, behavioral health providers and optometrists who deliver primary care, urgent care, labs, dental, hearing, counseling, X-ray and diagnostics services at affordable, transparent pricing regardless of patient insurance status. 

Health Connect South will feature Senior Vice President, Marcus Osborne, and Director of Health & Wellness, Nikki Tucker -who both helped launch Walmart Health. Osborne shared, “As we expand across Georgia, we are committed to bringing our communities quality healthcare, and we are excited to offer specialized community health resources, online education and in-center workshops to educate the community about preventative health and wellness.”

Registration is now open to be part of Health Connect South 2020 at www.healthconnectsouth.com.

About John Tabellione

John Tabellione is an award-winning, professional business writer, complemented by over twenty-five years of strategic communication responsibilities as a Marketing, New Business Development and National Account Sales Executive in consumer goods and commercial industries. 

Experience with Fortune 500 companies, as well as with smaller firms and non-profits, encompassing a variety of products, including those of Georgia-Pacific, Kimberly-Clark and Stanley Works. 

John has a B.A. in English from Fairfield University and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Hartford. In addition, he has studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute at Syracuse University, and Italian language and culture at Kennesaw State University.