Need for Health-Care Education Has Increased in 2020, Leader Says

For the first time, Loma Linda University Health held its annual Global Healthcare Conference in a virtual format as it continues its ongoing initiative to support the development of the church’s healthcare and educational institutions around the world.

Nearly 1,200 Seventh-day Adventist healthcare and church leaders from 81 countries registered for the 10thGlobal Healthcare Conference held online November 2–5, 2020.

The annual conference provides professional development and networking opportunities among Seventh-day Adventist health-care staff and administration at hospitals and educational institutions around the globe.  

This year’s program included nine live sessions and a library of 170 on-demand videos accessible in four languages: English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Topics included clinical laboratory, COVID-19, finance, human resources, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and quality improvement.

“The need for health-care education among our global partners has only increased during the pandemic,” LLUH president Richard H. Hart said in his opening keynote address. “Our online Global Healthcare Conference has allowed for more participation in a new way, engaging hospital staff and others unable to attend in person because of these unprecedented times.”

The conference also provided a venue for networking and collaboration between institutional leaders and encouraged conversations focused on practical challenges and solutions.

Participants had the opportunity to submit and view quality improvement projects and institutional highlights from other Seventh-day Adventist hospitals, clinics, and educational institutions worldwide. The Seventh-day Adventist Church operates nearly 200 hospitals and 450 clinics around the globe.

“Because of the positive response to the conference, the Global Health Institute will be developing online global education materials to further support and grow these international institutions,” Hart said.

The Global Healthcare Conference has been held annually since 2010. The first conference took place in Honduras and focused primarily on the specific needs of health-care leaders in Latin America. Since then, on even-numbered years, the conference has taken place in Loma Linda. Regional conferences take place in odd-numbered years, with events over the past decade being held in the Dominican Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia, and India.

Organized by the Global Health Institute of Loma Linda University Health, the conference includes the following collaborating organizations: Adventist Health International, the Consortium of Adventist Medical Education Leaders, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and the General Conference departments of education and health ministries.

The 2020 Global Healthcare Conference plenary and breakout sessions are available on demand, leaders said.

The original version of this story was posted on the Loma Linda University Health news site.