Panels of experts to discuss hot button healthcare issues

Beginning February 14, 2012, Calvin College will host 20 physicians, medical educators, hospital administrators and other authorities in the healthcare arena--all of whom will be participating in "Health Care USA: Is there a cure?"

The series of four panels will take a wide focus on the current issues of healthcare delivery, looking at the state of medical education in the United States, economics and health care disparity, the politics of healthcare pertaining to the 2012 elections and healthcare strategies from other countries.

Panelists will include the president and CEO of St. Mary's Health Care, the president and CEO of Priority Health, director of admissions at the University of Michigan Medical School, dean of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine and the heart transplant surgical director at Spectrum Health, to name a handful.

"I can't remember a time when this number of experts has come together to discuss these issues over a four-week span," said Larry Gerbens, the Calvin College regional gift officer who organized the series of panels.

The panels will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. on four consecutive Tuesdays (February 14, 21, 28 and March 6) in the Covenant Fine Arts Center's Recital Hall. Gerbens chose to kick off the series with a discussion on how other developed countries handle healthcare. The next three panels focus solely on healthcare in the United States.

Throughout the course of the four weeks, Gerbens expects the discussions will cover the long-term viability of the current employer-based health insurance system, the rising costs of medical education, the shortage of opportunities for residency and the effect that affordable care has on hospital systems, among other issues.

"I hope people learn things that they didn't know before on all of these topics," said Gerbens. "I hope that they become informed. I hope they meet experts who are working very hard in the healthcare arena to address and fix the problems."

The Calvin College Academy of Lifelong Learning (CALL) is sponsoring the series of panels. The organization provides spiritual, intellectual, cultural and social enrichment opportunities for its members, who are at least 50 years old. However, Gerbens, who practiced medicine for 30 years, noted that the series is open to anyone who wants to learn more about this topic.

"Healthcare affects people of all ages and from all demographics," said Gerbens. "CALL has agreed to open up the series to the general public because of the current importance of the discussion."

For more info, visit www.calvin.edu/call or contact Gerbens at 616-648-5523.

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Received on Tue Feb 7 12:20:32 2012