Center for Community Health Conversations

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The Institute for the Advancement of Community Health (IACH) is excited to host a wide variety of opportunities for Furman University faculty, students and staff as well as community partners and interested collaborators to further the Institute’s mission.

Coming soon:

Please join us for a special two-day professional development opportunity, “Cultivating Lifelong Family Well-Being,” scheduled for Thursday, March 7, and Friday, March 8, 2024 at Furman University’s Younts Conference Center.  “Cultivating Lifelong Well-Being” is a two-day conference and partnership between the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health (IACH) and the Institute for Child Success (ICS).  This program will bring together early childhood professionals, medical practitioners, educators, social workers, academics, and policymakers converge to discuss a variety of topics including adopting best practices for maternal health, child development, developmental screening, equity, impact investing, and mental health and well-being. To register on EventBrite, click here or email Olivia Comer at IACH@furman.edu for more information.

 

Seventh Annual Community Health Forum
Thursday, March 7, 2024
sponsored by the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health

This year’s event will center around maternal health and will feature keynote presentations from:

* Chanel L. Porchia-Albert CD, CPD, CLC, CHHC is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ancient Song, a national birth justice organization offering comprehensive doula training and services, community education, and impactful policy advocacy. Ancient Song is dedicated to eradicating maternal and infant mortality and morbidity among Black and Latinx communities.

 

* South Carolina native Kortney James, PhD, RN, PNP-C is an Associate Health Policy Researcher at RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, Calif., where she leads research aimed to improve access to quality perinatal health services for minoritized and marginalized populations. She is also the Associate Editor of the Nursing for Women’s Health Journal.

The day-long event will also feature panel discussions and workshops with maternal health experts and program leaders from across the Carolinas. The panel will include Dr. Kacey Eichelberger from the Magdalene Clinic Greenville and Dr. Dorothy Cilenti, Director of the National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center at the Gillings School of Public Health, UNC-Chapel Hill and editor of The Practical Playbook III: Working Together to Improve Maternal Health.

Agenda

9:30 a.m.-10 a.m. Registration
10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Welcome/Introduction
10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. Keynote Speaker Chanel L. Porchia-Albert, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ancient Song, followed by a question-and-answer session
11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Lunch (provided)
12:45 p.m.-1:45 p.m. Keynote Speaker Kortney James, Associate Health Policy Researcher at RAND Corp., followed by a question-and-answer session
1:45 p.m.-2 p.m. Afternoon Break
2 p.m.-3 p.m. Panel discussion with community partners, including Dr. Kacey Eichelberger of Magdalene Clinic Greenville and Dr. Dorothy Cilenti, Director of the National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center at the Gillings School of Public Health, UNC-Chapel Hill
3 p.m.-4:15 p.m. Workshop session with Dr. Dorothy Cilenti
4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Closing remarks
5 p.m.-7 p.m. Reception

 

2024 Desmond P. Kelley, MD
Nurturing Developing Minds Conference
Friday, March 8, 2024
sponsored by the Institute for Child Success

Nurturing Developing Minds is an interactive learning opportunity with sessions centering around young children (generally, prenatal to age 8), their families, and the systems that serve them.

Keynote Speaker David Willis, MD

David Willis, MD, is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, where his focus is on the intersection of child health and broader community-based early childhood systems. A developmental-behavioral pediatrician, Dr. Willis is regarded as one of the nation’s foremost voices on the developing field of early relational health.

Friday’s conference will include workshop and breakout sessions throughout the day, including:

  • Meeting Children Where They Are: Hands-on Strategies to Empower Children to Work Through Trauma
  • Reach Out and Read’s New Research: Directing Our Work with Early Relational Health
  • Inspiring Educators: Promoting Equitable Health and Community Relations in Early Learning Settings

Agenda

8:30 a.m.-8:45 a.m. Registration (Coffee and light breakfast available)
9 a.m.-10 a.m. Keynote Speaker Dr. David Willis, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy
10 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Morning Break
10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Breakout Sessions (3)
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Panel discussion & Breakout Session
12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. Lunch (provided), poster session, and exhibitor hall.
1 p.m.-2 p.m. Workshop: “Meeting Children Where They Are: Hands-on Strategies to Empower Children to Work Through Trauma”
2 p.m.-3 p.m. Breakout sessions (3)
3 p.m.-3:15 p.m. Break
3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m. Breakout sessions (3)

 

 

Stay tuned for future IACH CLPs and other events that take place throughout the academic year, such as:

  • Community Health Champions Speaker Series – Fall & Spring Semester
  • Community Health Forum – Spring Semester
  • Women in Healthcare Panel Discussion – Spring Semester