Thank you to all of the wonderful sponsors, the amazing speakers, and, of course, the attendees for making NVPCA’s 2026 Annual Health Care Conference one for the books! We couldn’t have done it without all of you. Thank You!

​

NVPCA’s 2026 Annual Health Care Conference opened on a high note with words of insight and encouragement from NVPCA CEO, Nancy Bowen, our illustrious emcee Dr. Tiffany Young, and Sarah Fox, COO of (conference Lead Sponsor) SilverSummit Healthplan.

​

We then moved to the keynote session The Power of Lifestyle Medicine: Transforming Patients and Practice from Jessica Jolly and Ruth Michaelis speaking on lifestyle medicine, an evidence-based specialty, formalized in 2004, that treats the root causes of chronic disease. They also got attendees moving as seen in the video in the photo gallery below.

​

UNLV School of Public Health’s Brian G. Rosenberg session on AI showed patients adopting AI faster than providers: 29% already use it for their own care, often to decide whether to book a visit or to interpret records. Cautions were that AI tends to please rather than verify, bad data produces hallucinations, and privacy and consent rules are straining. He recommended buying tools that solve defined problems, with ambient scribes and AI front-desk tools as the near-term opportunities. The goal is more health care, not more AI.

​

Julie Gwin from Northern Nevada HOPES presented Dress Rehearsing Disaster: How to Run a Tabletop Active Shooter Drill in Outpatient Care. Gwin defined a tabletop exercise as a facilitated, discussion-based simulation, not a live drill, performance test, or lecture, and urged teams to run one because most organizations have emergency plans that few have practiced.

​

The first round of breakout sessions included Bridging the Gap: Designing and Sustaining Effective Transitions of Care Programs in FQHCs with Holly Long from Community Health Alliance and  Yescenia Corral Hope from Christian Health Center. Chenier Taylor from the American Heart Association spoke on Building a Thriving Health Center Workforce: American Heart Association Tools for Lasting Impact. NVPCA’s REACCHH team had their annual meeting.

​

The second session of breakouts consisted of NVPCA’s fearless leader, Nancy Bowen, presenting Room to Think: Sustaining the Leaders Who Sustain the Mission. Lily Helzer, MPH from Nevada Cancer Coalition Sydnie Walters, MPH, CHW from Northern Nevada HOPES illustrated how to Optimize Colorectal Cancer Screening in Primary Care and UC Berekley’s Melissa Afterman led us through Creating Healthier Workspaces Through Ergonomics. She also offered a “Stretch and Refresh” session during the networking break that relaxed and rejuvenated.

​

The final session of the day was Thriving in Midlife: Supporting Patients Through Menopause.  Danielle D. Grimm, MPH, MS, CNP, WHNP-BC, MSCP from The Dimock Center argued that midlife patients are already in health center clinics and need more than contraceptive care. Grimm suggested treating the patient and symptoms rather than lab results, and to reframe hormone therapy from "is it safe?" to "right patient, right reason, right therapy."

​

After a fun evening of BBQ, drinks, line dancing, and unwinding at the Western themed reception, day 2 of the conference started off with a bang. Dr. Anjali Rameshbabu explained that social well-being is fundamental to health, and that you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. About 1 in 6 people worldwide, and roughly half of US adults, report loneliness, and disconnection harms body and mind through biological, psychological, and behavioral pathways. Time spent together has declined since the 1970s and 80s, which erodes trust. Rameshbabu’s strategies were to treat connection as health promotion, build a culture of connection at work, and make it part of the community.

​

NVPCA’s Policy Director, Steve Messinger, and Families USA’s Jen Taylor headed up the policy update which described a complicated environment. They reviewed HR1 and recent executive orders, including more than $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, new work requirements, increase of restrictions, along with a significant drop in open enrollment. They also discussed site-neutral payment policies, hospital billing changes, and scrutiny of Medicare Advantage abuses.

​

The final session found Feldesman’s Adam Falcone discussed revenue sources beyond fee-for-service: Medicaid and Medicare ACOs, Medicare Advantage wrap payments, and shared savings. He offered four questions to ask before or during any value-based arrangement: what data will we receive, which measures and targets apply, which patients are attributed to us, and how are reconciliation, appeals, and disputes handled.

​

Next up was the NVPCA Awards Luncheon. While enjoying a delicious meal, the NVPCA Health Care Awards were presented. Aaaand the winners are:

​

Exceptional Administrative Leadership Award went to the dauntless Kyle Sundland from Northern Nevada HOPES and the exquisite Cheryl Temple from Nevada Health Centers.

​

The Unsung Hero Award went to the Rockstar Emily Finley of Nevada Health Centers.

​

The Exceptional Board Leadership Award went to Community Health Alliance’s very own Noemi Gomez Martinez.

​

The Outstanding Provider Award went to the very funny powerhouse Rebecca Sparks from Nevada Health Centers.

​

The Exceptional Health Professions Educator Award went to the marvelous Maria Fernandez form Community Health Alliance.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​