Thursday Plenary Session
10:45 AM – 12:30 PM
James Withers, MD
Medical Director and Founder, Pittsburgh Mercy's Operation Safety Net; Founder, Street Medicine Institute; Teaching Faculty, UPMC Mercy; Assistant Professor, Clinical Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
In 1992, Dr. Jim Withers dressed as a homeless person and partnered with a formerly homeless man to visit Pittsburgh's street dwellers, making “house calls” at night. This initiative became Operation Safety Net (OSN), a pioneering program that delivers medical care and social services directly to the unsheltered homeless while serving as a reality-based learning platform for students of various disciplines.
Dr. Withers’ influence spans globally:
- Established the International Street Medicine Symposium in 2005, fostering collaboration across six continents.
- Founded the Street Medicine Institute in 2009 to advance the global practice of street medicine.
- Created the first Street Medicine Fellowship at UPMC Mercy Hospital in 2019.
Dr. Withers continues to provide care through Pittsburgh Mercy and serves as faculty at UPMC Mercy Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh.
Friday Plenary Session
Friday Plenary Session10:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Malcolm L. Peterson Honor Lecture
Mona Hanna, MD, MPH, FAAP
Associate Dean for Public Health and C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine; Founding Director, Pediatric Public Health Initiative
Dr. Mona Hanna (commonly known as Dr. Mona) is a pediatrician, scientist, activist, and author renowned for her role in uncovering the Flint water crisis and leading recovery efforts. As Associate Dean for Public Health at MSU, she also founded the Pediatric Public Health Initiative, a collaborative effort between MSU and Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint, Michigan.
Her current work includes:
- Leading Rx Kids, an innovative program reimagining how society can eliminate infant poverty.
Dr. Mona’s accolades include being named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and one of USA Today's Women of the Century. She is also the author of What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City.
Saturday Plenary Session
Saturday Plenary Session10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Equitable Access to Care: Harnessing the Patient Experience for Change
Access to healthcare remains unequal across the United States, with significant disparities in states without Medicaid expansion, resulting in delays in care and poorer outcomes.
This session will explore:
- How physicians can amplify patient experiences to advocate for healthcare equity locally and nationally.
- How clinician researchers and educators can leverage their research and teaching for health equity advocacy.
Panelists: To Be Announced
