The Nineteenth National Conference on Primary Health Care Access will be held at the Grand Hyatt Kaua'i from Monday, April 7 through Thursday, April 10, 2008.  The theme of the Nineteenth National Conference will be "Public Policy and Primary Health Care Access".

The distinguished permanent faculty of the National Conferences includes noted author Doctor John Geyman, Emeritus Chair of Family Medicine at the University of Washington.  For the sixth consecutive national conference, he will make a major presentation in the field of health care policy.  For this year's subject he has chosen to examine the role of private insurance in the health care system.

Doctor John Saultz, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University, has been designated as the Eighteenth G. Gayle Stephens Lecturer.

Doctor Gerard Clancy, President of the Oklahoma University's Tulsa campus and Charles Henley, DO, MPH of the OU Tulsa Department of Family Medicine will present information on developing OU School of Community Health.

Michael D. Prislin, Associate Dean at the University of California, Irvine, will lead a discussion on current trends in student interest toward primary care. Co-participants will be Marc E. Babitz, MD of the University of Utah and William Shore, MD of the University of California, San Francisco.

Doctor Macaran A. Baird, Chair of Family Medicine at the University of Minnesota, will speak to a topic entitled "'Big Pharma'  and Medical Practice" Is There a Way to Regain our Balance?"

Doctor Mitchell Kasovac of the American Osteopathic Association will present the Fourteenth J. Jerry Rodos Lecture, entitled "An Innovative Predoctoral Curriculum". It will include a clinical presentation model grouping students at participating community health centers.

Doctors William Coleman and Allan Wilke of the University of Alabama Birmingham's Huntsville campus will make a presentation on the University of Alabama Huntsville's initiatives in introducing medical students to rural health and primary care.

Doctor Robert Maudlin of Family Medicine Spokane will observe the 21st anniversary of the "Rural Training Track" innovation in family medicine education.  Doctor Elizabeth Burns of the University of North Dakota will update the North Dakota community-based Rural Domestic Violence Prevention initiatives on that theme day.

Doctors Neal Palafox and Allen Hixon, respectively Chair and Residency Director of the University of Hawai'i Department of Family Medicine, whose presentations at the Seventeenth National Conference were memorable, will present further information on national health care policy and the health care needs of underserved Pacific Islander populations.

Doctor Palafox has been designated the Fifteenth Charles E. Odegaard Lecturer.  A special recognition of the fifteen Odegaard Lectures and President Odegaard's contributions to community-oriented medical education will take place on the fourth day of the National Conference.  Former Odegaard Lecturers J. Jerry Rodos, Mark E. Clasen, Perry A. Pugno and Gerard Clancy will take part in the special recognition.

Doctor Jonathan Weisbuch, Adjunct Professor at Arizona State University will speak on health care reform, including proposed and enacted initiatives at the state and local levels, from his perspectives as former health officer for the communities of Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Doctor J. Jerry Rodos, Dean Emeritus of Midwestern University's Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, who has been an esteemed member of the eighteen previous National Conference faculties, returns again in his role of historian of medical education policy development in the United States.

Doctors Perry A. Pugno, Warwick G. Troy and Judy Hall will be participants in a plenary session entitled Innovations in Postgraduate Medical Education and Training, which will discuss both the Future of Family Medicine P4 Initiative and models of multidisciplinary integrated care for economically disadvantaged urban areas.

Doctor Robert Ross of the Klamath Falls Family Medicine Residency Program will join William Burnett of the Coastal Research Group in a discussion of individual family medicine residency community impact reports.

Additional members of the National Conference faculty will be announced shortly.  The National Conference program is being posted day by day, with the complete program available on this webpage soon.

The Nineteenth National Conference is an invitational conference, limited to approximately 55 persons involved in community-based medical education and related public policy fields.

Registration INCLUDES hotel room.

The Nineteenth National Conference rate INCLUDES four nights of hotel accommodations (Sunday April 6, Monday April 7, Tuesday April 8 and Wednesday April 9, checking out at noon on April 10, 2008.)

Conference Faculty (as of March 18, 2008):

Marc E. Babitz, MD, University of Utah

Macarain Baird, MD, University of Minnesota

Lee A. Burnett, DO, Studentdoctor.net

William H. Burnett, Coastal Research Group

Elizabeth Burns, MD, University of North Dakota

Gerard P. Clancy, MD, Oklahoma University, Tulsa

Mark E. Clasen, MD, Ph.D., Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio

William H. Coleman, MD, University of Alabama, Huntsville

James Cruz, MD, Alta-Med, Los Angeles

Rick Flinders, MD, Santa Rosa Family Medicine, Santa Rosa, California

Virginia Fowkes, FNP, MHS, Stanford University

Joshua Freeman, MD, Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City

Donald Frey, MD, Creighton University, Omaha

John Geyman, MD, University of Washington, Seattle, Emeritus

Judy Hall, Ph.D., National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, Washington, DC

Jimmy H. Hara, MD, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles

Charles E. Henley, DO, MPH, Oklahoma University, Tulsa

James Herman, MD, Penn State University, Hershey, Pennyslvania

Allen Hixon, MD, University of Hawai'i

Mitchell Kasovac, DO, American Osteopathic Association, Phoenix

Gary LeRoy, MD, Wright State University, Dayton

Robert Maudlin, Pharm. D., Family Medicine Spokane

Neal Palafox, MD, University of Hawai'i

Michael D. Prislin, MD, University of California, Irvine

Perry A. Pugno, MD, MPH, American Academy of Family Physicians, Leawood, Kansas

J. Jerry Rodos, DO, DSci, Midwestern University, Western Springs, Illinois

Robert Ross, MD, Klamath Falls Family Medicine Residency

John Saultz, MD, Oregon Health Sciences University

William Shore, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Warwick G. Troy, Ph.D., MPH, Shueman Troy Associates, Pasadena, California

Jonathan Weisbuch, MD, Arizona State University, Phoenix

Allan Wilke, MD, University of Alabama, Huntsville

Terrell W. Zollinger, DrPH, Indiana University

Program - The Nineteenth National Conference on Primary Health Care Access (Day One)

Monday, April 7, 2008 (Tidepools Restaurant - Monday only)

6:30 A.M.- 8:00 A.M. Assigned working breakfast discussion groups (conference registrants only)

8:15 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. Plenary sessions (Kuhio's - Monday only)

Mark E. Clasen, MD, Ph.D., Moderator

Welcome and Opening Statements:

Terrell W. Zollinger, DrPH, Indiana University, Indianapolis

8:25 A.M. “The Academic Infrastructure of Family and Community Medicine: An Appreciation of the Contributions of Jack Rodnick, MD”

Michael Prislin, MD, University of California, Irvine

William Shore, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Virginia Fowkes, MHS, FNP, Stanford University

Rick Flinders, MD, Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency

8:45 A.M. . From Conception to Young Adulthood: Rural Training Tracks are 21 Years OlS

Robert Maudlin, Pharm. D., Spokane Family Medicine

9:05 A.M. The Domestic Violence Intervention Network in Rural North Dakota: Progress Report

Elizabeth Burns, MD, Uniersity of North Dakota, Grand Forks

9:25A.M  Narratives and Numbers: Qualitative and Quantitative Initiatives for Describing the Community Impact of Family Medicine Residency Training

Robert Ross, MD, Cascades East Family Medicine, Klamath Falls, Oregon

William H. Burnett, MA, Coastal Research Group, Granite Bay, California

Perry Pugno, MD, American Academy of Family Physicians, Leawood, Kansas

10:00 A.M. Break

10:15 A.M.  Annual Update on the State of the Student Doctor Network

Lee A. Burnett, DO, Student Doctor Network, Sunset Beach, California

10:35 A.M.Factors Influencing Medical Student Choices: Current Realities and Future Possibilities

Michael D. Prislin, MD, University of California, Irvine

Marc E. Babitz, MD, MPH, Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake City

William Shore, MD, University of California, San Francisco

11:10 A.M. Introduction of the Stephens Lecturer

            Robert Ross, MD

The Eighteenth G. Gayle Stephens Lecture

John Saultz, MD, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland

11:50 A.M. Open Discussion

12:00 P.M. Adjournment

Program - The Nineteenth National Conference on Primary Health Care Access (Day Two)

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

6:30 A.M. - 8:00 A.M.  (Dondero's Restaurant)

Assigned working breakfast discussion groups (conference registrants only)

8:15 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. Plenary sessions (Kauai Ballroom 2 and 3)
Joshua Freeman, MD, Moderator

Adventures in the History of Ideas, Part I
8:15 A.M. Why the Health Insurance Industry is Dying and How We Must Replace It
           John Geyman, MD, University of Washington Emeritus, Friday Harbor, Wash.

9:00 A.M Universal Coverage: To Save the Public Health and to Save Public Health           

            Jonathan Weisbuch, MD, Maricopa County Dept of Health Emeritus, Phoenix

Adventures in the History of Ideas, Part II

9:20 A.M. ‘Big Pharma’ and Medical Practice: is There a Way to Regain Our Balance?
           Macaran Baird, MD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

10:05 A.M Break

10:20 A.M.  First Roundtable Discussion: Is What You Teach What Your Community Needs?
         James E. Cruz, MD, AltaMed, Los Angeles 
         Jimmy H. Hara, MD, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles
         Gary L. LeRoy, MD, Wright State University, Dayton

11:05 A.M. Second Roundtable Discussion: Can Medical Schools Be Made to Care About the Community?
         Donald Frey, MD, Creighton University
         Mark E. Clasen, MD, Ph.D.

         James Herman, MD, Penn State University

11:50 Open Discussion

12:00 P.M. Adjournment

Program - The Nineteenth National Conference on Primary Health Care Access (Day Three)

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

8:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Plenary sessions (Kauai Ballroom 2 and 3)
Marc E. Babitz, MD., Moderator

8:15 A.M. Innovation in Postgraduate Medical Education and Training
         Warwick Troy, Ph.D, Shueman Troy Associates, Pasadena, California
         Judy Hall, Ph.D., Natl Register (for) Psychology, Washington, DC
         Perry A. Pugno, MD

9:00 A.M.  When is a Pipeline a Pipeline? The Alabama Rural Primary Care/Family Medicine Experience
        William H. Coleman, MD, University of Alabama, Huntsville
         Allan UJ. Wilke, MD, University of Alabama, Huntsville
 
9:40 A.M. Innovations in Medical Education: Birth of a Community-Oriented Medical School in Eastern Oklahoma
        Charles E. Henley, DO, MPH, Oklahoma University, Tulsa
        Gerard Clancy, MD, Oklahoma University, Tulsa
 
10:20 A.M. Break

10:35 A.M The Consortium on Community-Based Medical Education:

Induction of New Senior Fellows Charles E. Henley, DO, MPH; Cynthia G. Olsen, MD; and Allan J. Wilke, MD

Observation of the 25th Anniversary of the Coastal Research Group

10:50 A.M. . Introduction of the Rodos Lecturer Dr Kasovac)
        Lee A. Burnett, DO

The Fourteenth J. Jerry Rodos Lecture: A New Innovation in Pre-Doctoral Education
        Mitchell Kasovac, DO, A. T. Still School of Osteopathic Medicine, Mesa, Arizona

11:30 A.M. “AHECs as the Educational Arm of Community Health Centers: the California Experience”
         Virginia Fowkes, MHS, FNP

Cynthia G. Olsen, MD., Moderator

About the Conference:

The Nineteenth National Conference, like its predecessor conferences, is an intense, three and a half-day experience that begins in assigned breakfast breakout groups each day at 6:30 a.m. and continues through mid-day.

No events are scheduled on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon or evening.  As with all of the National Conferences, spouses/partners and families are welcome and encouraged to come.  The dedicated free times permits conference registrants to assure their families that they will have time for them.  Alternatively, it permits registrants to enjoy the surroundings in one of the world's premiere destinations.

The Coastal Research Group requires that all registration fees be received in advance, including for extra room nights, and does not permit refunds.  However, a full credit for all payments made are available for use at future National Conferences and National Workshops  (provided that a cancellation of a registration is received in time to prevent the imposition of charges on the Coastal Research Group, which would be deducted from any credit). All persons holding credits are invited automatically to future National Conferences and Workshops.

For further information, contact the Coastal Research Group at coastalresearch@yahoo.com.

Concepts

Among the concepts integral to all of the conference's acitivities, are the propositions that (1) all Americans should have access to primary health care, (2) that health care resources should be geographically distributed to promote such access, with special attention to rural and inner city areas, (3) that the concepts of family medicine, and of accessible comprehensive and continuous health care services, are critical elements for improving health care in the United States, (4) that family medicine residency programs and community health centers enhance primary health care access.