May 2, 2011 Press Release
Date: May 3, 2011 Contact: Lauren Parsons Communications Director Direct Line: 214-746-6690 | 
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Dallas Regional Chamber Announces 3rd Annual Health Care Conference; Summits to Eradicate Childhood Obesity
DALLAS, TEXAS (May 3, 2011)… On Thursday May 19th the Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) will host the 3rd Annual Health Care Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Downtown Dallas, located at 1015 Elm Street. Local, state, and national leaders will gather for a look at the latest trends in the health care industry impacting the business environment and local economy. The conference will include breakout sessions with three different track options focusing on; Health Care Reform and compliance, Wellness and Obesity Trends and finally the latest news and applications of IT in Health Care. The half-day conference is expecting 150 to 200 attendees from companies throughout the region including service providers, physicians, human resources and government relations executives as well as high tech experts in the industry.
Health care, in the DFW region, is a $52 billion a year business – putting this industry among the largest sectors, representing about 15% of all regional economic activity. The conference will begin at 8 a.m. with a breakfast keynote featuring Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services, Dr. Pawan Goyal. Dr. Goyal will address the change factor that is well underway in the health care industry, trends, and what the opportunities include for this sector as health care reform is enacted and health care consumers’ preferences evolve.
The luncheon keynote, at noon, will feature Joe Quinn, Senior Director of Issue Management and Strategic Outreach for Wal-Mart Corporate Affairs. Mr. Quinn will share his insights on Wal-Mart’s ground-breaking announcement of the 5-Year Plan to Reduce Fats, Sugars and Salt in Food.
The
Live Healthy North Texas Awards will be presented during the luncheon. Live Healthy North Texas (LHNT) is a unique health and wellness program brought to employers in a team-centric “100 Day Wellness Challenge” that focuses on education, motivation and personal achievement. In this ceremony the employers with the best rankings on the 100 day challenge will be awarded by the following categories:
Large Company, Mid-sized Company, Small Company, Healthiest City, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved and Ambassador of the Year.Tickets are $75 for DRC members and $150 for non-members. HRCI Certification by Dallas HR for the Conference will be provided, as well as 4.5 CPE Continuing Education Credits with no prerequisites required, 3 hour AMA PRA CME certification and CLE accreditations for interested attendees*. Sponsors include: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Dallas Business Journal, Jones Day LLP, Holmes Murphy and Associates, and UT Southwestern Medical Center. Additional information on this event is available at
dallaschamber.org/events. Please call Anakarina Pina at 214-712-1968 or email
apina@dallaschamber.org for more information.
*Accreditations are now pending but will be offered on May 19th 2011Summits Underway to Eradicate Childhood ObesityIn addition to the 2011 Health Care Conference, experts in childhood obesity have begun meeting for closed door summits to develop a regional collaborative to eradicate childhood obesity in our DFW region. The DRC is the catalyst, alongside its membership and leadership of the Health Care Committee, for bringing together the region’s non-profit community focused on obesity issues. The group will discuss successful programs in North Texas, benchmarks and measures that regional experts agree will pave the way toward a slowing of, and eventually the decline of, cases of childhood obesity in this region and develop a plan as a community to work toward the defined goals.
The issue of obesity was brought to the forefront of recognized performance gaps that have a material effect on the Dallas region’s economic prosperity. The DRC has dedicated staff resources to catalyzing a regional partnership to fill this performance gap, in line with the
DRC’s strategic plan objective to catalyze and advocate for regional partnerships.
The Dallas Regional Chamber is the area’s leading membership-driven business organization committed to promoting economic prosperity by leading economic development, driving improvements in public education, influencing public policy, and catalyzing and advocating for regional partnerships. The Chamber works to ensure that the Dallas region will become the most economically prosperous region - and the most desirable place to live and work - in the United States. The Chamber is a not for profit organization comprised of businesses which represent all facets of the North Texas business community. For more information, please contact the Dallas Regional Chamber at (214) 746-6600 or visit
www.dallaschamber.org(MEDIA RSVP: If you would like to RSVP for this event or would like photo or interview opportunities please contact Lauren Parsons at 214-746-6690 or lparsons@dallaschamber.org by May 17th)
