Calendar

the International EcoHealth Forum 2008 will showcase evidence of theory and practice regarding our dependence on ecosystem health. Evidence of the impact of social and ecological changes on the global environment and, in turn, on human health will, be discussed among the forum's delegates.

This year's theme is "Lead - Empower - Deliver," building on last year's theme of "Take the Lead."

The 2008-09 Midwest Health Journalism Program fellows will visit the CDC to learn more about how that agency works, what resources it has available and how to best use those resources. The fellows also visit the Carter Center. This competitive fellowship program picks 10 journalists from Kansas and Missouri each year for special training sessions, mentoring and access to AHCJ conferences, workshops and resources.

This course will update internists, family practitioners and pediatricians on current clinical literature and methodologies for diagnosing, preventing, treating, and managing patients with diabetes resulting from obesity.

Leading researchers and scientists in the area of infectious and emerging disease are expected to attend the 57th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene to discuss the prevention and treatment of global health threats.

The National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care is a meeting place for people committed to the mission of improving health care. This annual event draws approximately 6,500 health care leaders from around the world in person and thousands more via satellite broadcast.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America will convene the Commission's third field hearing in Denver on December 10 to examine how work and the workplace affect the health of Americans.

AHCJ and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have unveiled a new national fellowship program for journalists. Ten fellows will be chosen to spend a week studying a variety of public health issues at two CDC campuses in Atlanta in early 2009.

The 2009 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference focuses on proven strategies for accelerating performance excellence and improving the sustainability of rural hospitals.

Atul Gawande, New Yorker magazine columnist and Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School will speak about "Ignorance vs. Ineptitude: Science and the Causes of Failure in Medicine" as part of the NIH Director's 2008-2009 Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series.

The theme of the Annual Meeting - "Our Planet and Its Life: Origins and Futures" - calls to mind that 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. New understanding of the underlying processes and mechanisms that fascinated Darwin continues to be the focus of intense research 150 years later.

This program is designed to provide a basic understanding of how the regulatory and legal environment has evolved and affects the marketing and promotion of pharmaceuticals. It also provides practical, day-to-day guidance on what can be learned from the latest FDA enforcement actions, and how companies can do their jobs better.

The committee consists of 15 experts in fields associated with immunization who have been selected to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the control of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Palliative Medicine is developing rapidly in the United States. This symposium focuses on providing an intensive multi-disciplinary review of cutting-edge topics in the field. The intent is to provide updates on the latest advances in the field of Palliative Medicine and Supportive Oncology in a format that allows interaction between the faculty and attendees.

Start planning now for Health Journalism 2009, AHCJ's annual conference. Make your hotel reservation today!

The conference theme is "Connecting Neighbors: Finding our Strengths in Community."

Obama presidency: Does his health plan stand a chance?

What lies ahead for health reform? The candidates made lots of promises during the campaign and now the time has come to deliver on them. Will the new president really be able to bring insurance coverage to more Americans given the country's other financial problems and the growing deficit? Will we again fall back on an incremental approach?

Our next Talking Health program will feature two experts who have been following the politics of health reform for a long time and two journalists who will give suggestions for covering the story for the next year nationally and locally. They will be taking questions from the audience, so submit questions today!

Webinar sponsored by National Conference of State Legislatures
Speakers will offer their state's approach to retail-based clinics, how they arrived there, and why it's important.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has partnered with the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) to host "Proposals to policy: A national conversation on health care reform." The program will address the president-elect's health care reform plans and the impact those policy decisions will have on employers, hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, national and local policy makers, government and consumers.

The American Cancer Society offers resources for people trying to quit smoking, including links to local activities and resources.

This year's American College of Physicians conference will focus on the impact of low health literacy on health care quality, medication labels, physicians' practices and the linkages between literacy and health literacy.

The National Center for Health Statistics is tentatively set to release this report analyzing health insurance coverage among working-age women according to marital status, utilizing data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey.

This webcast is presented by the Alabama Public Health Training Network.

Philadelphia's AHCJ chapter will host a free workshop on health care reporting featuring guest lecturers Gary Schwitzer, associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and publisher of HealthNewsReview.org, and Kathleen Fairfield, MD, DrPH, a medical editor with HealthNewsReview.org and clinician-scientist at Maine Medical Center. They will share their data on how news organizations have performed on 10 criteria for accurate, balanced and complete coverage; reflect on trends observed in the coverage of health care news; and provide tips about evaluating claims made about new health care treatments, tests, products and procedures. 

The committee advises the Secretary, CDC and HRSA on the full range of issues including objectives, strategies, policies and priorities for HIV and STD prevention, care and treatment efforts. This new Committee encourages strong inter-agency collaboration across the spectrum of prevention and care. The Advisory Committee meets twice per year.

Webinar sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures
Experts discuss so-called "cafeteria plans" as a way to achieve affordable employer-related health insurance coverage. These webinars are archived when they are over.

Jim Pickett of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago; Johnathan Briggs, foundation spokesman and former Tribune reporter; and Rev. Doris Green will discuss AIDS/HIV and the need for more prevention efforts.

Experts from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Industries Group will present an in-depth look at President-elect Obama's health reform plan.

The Food and Drug Administration encourages professional writers and journalists with a specialty interest in medicine, health, and technology to explore the wealth of scientific research to be found at FDA and to tour the Office of Science and Technology Laboratories at the Science Writers Symposium.

AHCJ is a sponsor of the 6th Annual Missouri Health Policy Summit, hosted by the Center for Health Policy at the University of Missouri.

Roger Kornberg of Stanford University Medical School and 2006 Nobel Prize winner will discuss "The Molecular Basis of Eukaryotic Transcription" at this session of the NIH Director's 2008-2009 Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series. Lectures are viewable live on the Web.

The Center for Connected Health's 2008 Symposium will be "Who Provides, Who Decides, Who Pays: Consumers, Clinicians and Business Models in the Connected Era."

APHA's meeting program addresses current and emerging health science, policy, and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.

Because of their societal impact, arsenic and mercury have been highlighted in a number of recent newspaper and magazine articles about the mass arsenic poisoning of humans in Bangladesh and other parts of southeast Asia, and the potential dangers of consuming fish containing methylmercury from San Francisco Bay and drinking water from reservoirs in the Bay Area.

This one-day workshop will provide science journalists with background knowledge to better understand nano-to-macro scale processes that govern the fate and effect of important environmental contaminants.

This year's theme is "Managing in Times of Change." the conference will feature stand-up comic Mark Lundholm, who will conduct a two-hour session on "Humor in Recovery."

Elaine Ostrander, chief of NHGRI's Cancer Genetics Branch will discuss "Genetics and the Shapes of Dogs" at this session of the NIH Director's 2008-2009 Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series. Lectures are viewable live on the Web.

This report describes demographic differences and recent trends in food allergy in U.S. children.

This report (tentatively scheduled for Oct 22) presents average national height, weight and BMI reference data for all ages of the U.S. population in 2003-2006.

Dr. Arthur Kellermann, the associate dean for health policy at Emory University's School of Medicine, will be the featured speaker at this meeting of AHCJ's recently formed Atlanta chapter. Kellermann is one of the nation's leading experts on emergency medicine, ambulatory health policy and injury prevention.

The National Consumer Driven Health Care Summit will focus on the role of consumers in transforming health care.

Sessions will explore the health issues of children, seniors and immigrants in urban settings, as well as topics such as obesity, mental health, disaster preparedness and the mapping of local health data. Come get the tools to better investigate, understand and relate the health of your city.

Sen. McCain's plan would replace the existing tax preference for employer-based coverage with a refundable tax credit for the purchase of private insurance, and allow people to buy health insurance across state lines.

As people shift to products that are "green" and good for their bodies, community and the Earth - something some analysts call "conscientious consumerism" - consumers must sort through claims that products are good for them, responsibly produced and eco-friendly. This conference will integrate perspectives, best practices and lessons learned from a range of businesses.

This report (tentatively scheduled for Oc.t 15) presents recent trends in infant mortality in the U.S., along with disparities along race/ethnic lines as well as international comparisons.

This hands-on workshop will hone your skills and help you overcome the hurdles of reporting and writing quality health care stories despite biased sources and commercial pressures in the health/medical industry. We'll look at recent examples in our local media and learn tips and strategies.

Is biology destiny? Is it our genes or the environment? What factors influence our health and how do these various factors interact? The Institute of Medicine will host a daylong public symposium during its 38th annual meeting to discuss the biological, behavioral, and social determinants of health. Audio of the symposium will be available through an webcast.

Just weeks before the election and two nights after a presidential debate, political experts and commentators will give the inside scoop on how much health reform to expect in the new administration. Join us for this Center Scene Public Program and the return of panelists Mark Halperin, Chris Lehane and Adam Mendelsohn.

Sen. Obama has proposed a plan that builds on the existing employer-based system, while expanding public programs, putting in place new insurance regulations and providing new coverage options. In this live webcast, moderator Larry Levitt, vice president, Kaiser Family Foundation, and David Cutler, adviser, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), will discuss the plan.

Janet Carlson, health and beauty editor for Town & Country, and author of "Quick, Before the Music Stops: How Ballroom Dancing Saved My Life," will speak at this Connecticut Press Club event about how she selects pertinent topics, finds experts, and delivers the story to readers.

On October 2, 2008, FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research will convene a public meeting to obtain public comment about over-the-counter cough and cold medications for pediatric use as it proceeds with the rulemaking for these ingredients.

Ana Maria Cuervo, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine will discuss "Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy: Tales from an Old 'Pricky' Broom" at this session of the NIH Director's 2008-2009 Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series. Lectures are viewable live on the Web.

Meeting Objectives:

• To understand familial aspects of breast cancer;

• To understand the contribution of high risk alleles and low penetrant genes;

• To emphasize primary prevention strategies for familial breast cancer; and

• To explore interventions for breast cancer prevention, including lifestyle and nutritional approaches.

This report (tentatively scheduled for Sept. 30) from the National Center for Health Statistics presents the results of a comparison of the mortality experience of the 1986-2000 NHIS cohorts (between the NHIS interview and December 31, 2002) with that of the U.S. population, and thus provides information on how well mortality was ascertained in the NHIS Linked Mortality Files.

Geographic information system developer ESRI will hold a conference focused on health. Sessions include "Integrating Success into HIV Surveillance: Issues and Challenges" and "Health Preparedness and Response Disaster Response."

The National Center for Health Statistics has announced the tentative release of two reports on Sept. 24. Both are related to the the 1986-2000 National Health Interview Survey. 

Nathan Wolfe, UCLA Professor of Epidemiology and NIH Pioneer Award Winner will speak at this session of the NIH Director's 2008-2009 Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series. Lectures are viewable live on the Web.

Since the founding of the United States, political and social values and events have exerted a telling influence on the structure of its health system and the division of responsibility for providing the resources to access its care.

Top advisors will share the presidential candidates' plans for health care. Come learn about each plan from the top policy advisors of each candidate, and take the opportunity to ask your own questions and get answers. Audio of this session is available.

Mary Chris Jaklevic, secretary of AHCJ's board of directors, hosted an informal gathering of health journalists.

Disseminating the information that comes from medical practitioners and the media is becoming more difficult. In this session health reporters and public health information officers will lead a discussion about the complicated roles of journalists and sources in this new environment and what the future may hold.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is holding its 2008 conference.

The National Center for Health Statistics plans to release data about depression in the United States. The report looks at the percentage of people who had depression over any two-week period, by age, gender, and race/ethnicity.

The National Center for Health Statistics plans to release data about children using mental health services in the United States. This web-based report presents data on the types of mental health services received by school-aged children in the U.S., and how many children in the U.S. use these services.

This interactive course is a resource for understanding the increasing diversity of the audiences AHCJ members serve. The e-class is the online companion to the book “Covering Health in a Multicultural Society: A Resource Guide for Journalists.”

This intensive boot camp for the 2008-09 Midwest Health Journalism Program brings the fellows together with top health care journalists for in-depth sessions on how to report on specific health care issues. This competitive fellowship program picks 10 journalists from Kansas and Missouri each year for special training sessions, mentoring and access to AHCJ conferences, workshops and resources.

Atlanta-area health journalists will gather to lay the groundwork for a local chapter.

The conference will include the presentation of scientific research and dialogue on the major challenges facing the global response to AIDS. In addition to the conference sessions there are a number of activities, including satellite meetings, exhibitions, the Global Village and the Cultural Programme, that are integral to delegates' experience at the conference.

This kick-off workshop brings the class of fellows together with experts to learn more about politics and policy, stakeholders in the health care debate and ideas for generating stories. This competitive fellowship program picks 10 journalists from Kansas and Missouri each year for special training sessions, mentoring and access to AHCJ conferences, workshops and resources. 

AHCJ, The Commonwealth Fund, and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism will present Talking Health, a webcast for members that will explore the growing problem of the underinsured – those who have insurance but are still at risk for substantial out-of-pocket expenses.

The Society for Epidemiologic Research is a forum for sharing the latest in epidemiologic research. Its annual meeting includes the John C. Cassel Memorial Lecture and contributed papers, symposia, and posters on a wide range of epidemiologic issues.

AHCJ's Chicago chapter presents this session in which attendees will learn how to address the challenges of writing accurate, balanced and complete stories on deadline despite biased sources and commercial pressures in the medical industry. The speakers will use real stories as examples to show how it doesn't take an extra thousand words of type or 10 minutes of air to write a solid medical story.

The theme of this year's conference, put on by the Global Health Council, is "Community Health: Delivering, Engaging, Serving, Leading." Experts in the development of new products and medicines, as well as implementers and leaders from communities themselves, will present best practices, examine challenges and opportunities, and discuss the policy hurdles to ensuring that community health is supported.

Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and other partners, is hosting this event as part of National VA Research Week. Presentations will include information about research on schizophrenia, diabetes, brain-computer interface, women's issues and more.

This symposium, which will be videocast, will present advances in pain research and pain management, featuring work done through NIH support. Topics will include Moving Basic Discoveries to the Clinic and Clinical Findings to the Laboratory. A poster session will include a broad selection of current pain research findings presented by junior investigators. Members of the extramural scientific community, the NIH scientific community, health care providers, and the public are invited to attend.

The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of AHCJ will hold this panel discussion, exploring a timely topic that deserves more local coverage. Thousands of veterans are coming home with serious injuries, especially post-traumatic stress disorder, brain trauma, and physical disabilities. Are local medical and mental health resources adequate to handle their needs?

This online meeting, co-hosted by The Commonwealth Fund's Quality of Care for Frail Elders program and the Pioneer Network, will present the findings of The Commonwealth Fund 2007 Survey of Nursing Homes, and assess ongoing efforts to spread resident-centered care or "culture change" within the nursing home industry.

HHS' Office on Disability and Cleveland Clinic's Center for Neurological Restoration will hold a one-day conference on May 6 to focus on the impact DBS, or brain pacemakers, has on patients' quality of life, level of functioning and return to work. Topics will also include improving access to care, encouraging medical innovation and research and examining ethical considerations.

AHCJ's Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism will present the workshop, which will focus on special health concerns of America's rural populations and how reporters can better cover them.

This conference is designed to help journalists navigate the complex scientific, medical and political issues involved with global health, to assess what's working and what's not, and make these stories meaningful to local audiences.

The conference will examine the past, present and future of Medicare, with keynote addresses from Peter Orszag, PhD, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and a former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The conference will be web cast live at www.utexas.edu/lbj/webcasts, on the day of the event.

Nearly 600 people attended Health Journalism 2008 for dozens of panels on medical research, public health, the business of health care and consumer health. They also hear actor Dennis Quaid's very personal perspective on medical errors, Elizabeth Edwards' take on John McCain's health care plan, top experts debate the future of health care in this country and much more. News briefings by HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt and officials from the American Public Health Association and its partners let attendees write stories for their news outlets during the conference.

The Commonwealth Fund's Program on Quality of Care for Underserved Populations is hosting this online meeting, "Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: A New Chartbook." Presenters include: chartbook co-author Bruce Siegel, M.D., M.P.H., research professor at George Washington University; Dora Hughes, M.D., M.P.H., health policy adviser to Senator Barack Obama; and Carolyn Clancy, M.D., director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

This Chicago chapter event featured two doctors who specialize in treating addictions.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt will present the president's HHS budget for fiscal year 2009 at 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 4, in the auditorium of the Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Ave., SW, in Washington, D.C.

This panel will tap into cutting-edge news, research, and innovations developing in the Bay Area. If you write about any health aspect of the boomer generation, you won't want to miss this event. Panelists include Laura L. Carstensen, professor of psychology and director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, and Bay Area journalist Paul Kleyman, editor of the American Society on Aging's publication Aging Today and the national coordinator of the Journalists Exchange on Aging.

Latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on HIV infection in the U.S. general population, including discussion related to its association with Herpes simplex-virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection.

This report is the comprehensive annual report on mortality in the U.S., a follow-up to the preliminary report and the much shorter Health E-stat version.

This report looks at 2004 mortality data as well as trend data on annual flu and pneumonia vaccination coverage and differences among Hispanic, non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black populations.

Andrew Dillon, chief executive of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, will meet with British and American reporters to discuss his agency's role in advising the UK's National Health Service on the cost-effectiveness of medical treatments, and some of the subsequent rumbles across the Atlantic.

Enjoy complimentary light refreshments and a casual, meet-and-mingle gathering. The holiday party will be hosted this year by KQED Public Radio's The California Report, producers of "Heath Dialogues."

The 2007-08 fellows will pay a visit to the Centers for Disease Control. They will take part in two days of educational sessions, briefings and tours with CDC personnel.

For the first time, Florida health reporters will gather to share tips, ideas and meet some of the state's top health regulators. The gathering also will serve as an exploratory meeting to discuss the possible formation of an AHCJ Florida Chapter. All Florida health reporters are invited. You do not have to be an AHCJ member to attend.

The Chicago chapter of the Association of Health Care Journalists held an after-work gathering where AHCJ board member Mary Chris Jaklevic, who edited the new AHCJ guide "Covering Obesity: A Guide for Reporters," discussed the book and AHCJ board member Carla K. Johnson gave an update and answered questions about AHCJ nationally and in Chicago.

The New York chapter heard from five speakers about conflicts of interest in health care. The event, at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, examined how to recognize potential conflicts, including marketing vs. education, the pharmaceutical industry's gift giving to doctors and how it might affect prescribing habits and similar issues.

AHCJ - and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism - held its first Urban Health Journalism Workshop. Sessions explored the health issues of children, seniors and immigrants in urban settings, as well as obesity, mental health, disaster preparedness and the mapping of local health data.

Get MP3 and Flash presentations from the 2007 Urban Health Journalism Workshop. Topics include the health issues of children, seniors and immigrants in urban settings, as well as obesity, mental health, disaster preparedness and the mapping of local health data.

Three dozen journalists gathered at the San Francisco Chronicle for a workshop on multicultural health issues in the Bay Area.

Covering disparities in health and health care is not the same as reporting the latest drug trial or diet advice. Culture, history, money and biology intertwine to influence health and health care. This workshop builds on AHCJ's recently published multicultural health resource guide, which was supported by The California Endowment, to help you sharpen your skills, learn practical tips, and avoid lurking traps in this important, yet underreported area. Experienced journalists share their hard-earned lessons. Health experts flag common errors and misconceptions, while also providing an overview of what researchers really know.

Multimedia presentations are now available from this workshop, the third of its kind presented in California by AHCJ over the past year, was sponsored by The California Endowment. Logistical support also came from The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Bay Area members gathered to hear from three panelists about "Universal health coverage in California and the U.S.: Will it happen, when, and what will it look like?"

Audio is now available from the AHCJ San Francisco Bay Area Chapter meeting on Sept. 5 at the Kaiser Family Foundation about "Universal health coverage in California and the U.S.: Will it happen, when, and what will it look like?"

Training event for the 2007-08 Midwest Health Journalism Program fellows.

Kickoff training event for the 2007-08 Midwest Health Journalism Program fellows.

Washington, D.C., members gathered for a brown-bag lunch and panel discussion on drug safety regulation and the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), which is currently in conference committee in Congress.

The Chicago chapter will meet at 6 p.m. at Columbia College to hear about the future of health care reform from two speakers.

This innovative simulation will hone your critical-thinking skills and give you the beat-specific knowledge needed to cover the hospitals in your community. You will be a rookie health beat reporter, investigating local hospitals on deadline, working with your editor to find the focus of your story and craft the lead. You'll tap into the same tools that you'll use on the job, and you'll have a virtual "mentor" to walk you through the maze of reports, statistics and sources. As the simulation progresses, you'll uncover additional sources, and the story you thought was unfolding might take unexpected turns.

AHCJ and the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted this interactive roundtable webcast on March 6, 2007. Trudy Lieberman, president of AHCJ's board of directors, moderates a panel of experts discussing what journalists need to know about covering SCHIP.

With the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) up for reauthorization, this roundtable - a partnership between the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Kaiser Family Foundation - focuses on what journalists need to know about covering SCHIP in their states. Health reform proposals announced by would-be presidential candidates call for expanding coverage through SCHIP.

Hospital emergency rooms are under siege. Some inner city hospitals are losing on-call specialists to treat severely injured patients or must pay high prices to keep them. In some parts of the country, ambulance diversions are continuing. So are wallet biopsies which telegraph to hospitals who can pay and who cannot. Changes to Medicaid mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act could affect the care those on Medicaid will receive. Technology and emergency room care will become more expensive, raising the question: “Who will fund this place of last resort as the move to market-driven health care rushes ahead? “

Bay Area health care writers, editors, reporters and authors gathered at the 13 Views bar at the top of the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero for a Health Journalism Schmooze.

A roundtable focusing on the new Medicare prescription drug benefit known as Part D, designed to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for their medications.

This roundtable focuses on health savings accounts and related approaches advocated by the Bush Administration and others to address rising health care costs and lack of coverage for the uninsured. Webcast and transcript available.