PORT ANGELES — Representatives of 70 free health care clinics across the state have gathered in Port Angeles for the annual Washington Healthcare Access Alliance conference, and the public can register to attend.
The networking conference began Thursday and runs through Saturday at the Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel.
The public can sign up for the conference beginning at 7:30 a.m. today. Registration is $130.
The conference was organized and co-hosted by Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics, or VIMO.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Bridging the Gap: Health Insurance, Healthcare Access and the Great In-Between.”
“It’s really a chance to get to learn where free clinics are going,” VIMO development coordinator Zoe Apisdorf said.
“Free clinics are a gap filler, which means we provide services to those who would be falling through the cracks otherwise.”
The first session begins at 9 a.m., with opening remarks from Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd and VIMO Executive Director Larry Little.
Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights of the conference:
■ 11 a.m. today — Breakout sessions on coordinating care in specialty referral networks, the state health benefits exchange and navigation process, and a framework for effective collaboration.
■ 1:30 p.m. today — A general session on the policy, strategy and future of health care access.
■ 3:30 p.m. today — Breakout sessions on advocating for health care access, an executive director’s roundtable and understanding professional liability and risk management.
■ 6 p.m. today — VIMO’s Healthy Harvest Gathering at Barhop Brewery.
■ 8:30 a.m. Saturday — A general session on clinic obligations, opportunities and pitfalls in the era of health care reform.
■ 11 a.m. Saturday — Breakout sessions on sharing lessons and exploring possibilities, access to oral health care and conversational leadership and community connections.
For more information about the conference, visit http://tinyurl.com/pdn-conference.
Washington Healthcare Access Alliance is a nonprofit organization that works to “strengthen and support the free clinics of Washington through advocacy, education and professional networking,” according to www.wahealthcareaccessalliance.org.
The alliance estimates that free clinics provided health care services in as many as 60,000 patient visits in 2011.
