An ensemble of over 200 presenters comprising of healthcare experts, leading industry thinkers, and best practice presenters is being lined up for the 44th World Hospital Congress – the flagship event of the International Hospital Federation (IHF) – which will take place on 8 to 11 November in Barcelona, Spain, along with an online broadcast exclusively available for virtual attendees.
Hosted by La Unió Catalana d’Hospitals (Catalan Hospital, Health and Social Services Association – UCH), the Congress is poised to be one of the first hybrid healthcare management events that will happen in the region. It is a unique global forum where industry executives from more than 50 countries will convene to share new knowledge, expertise and good practices in hospital and healthcare leadership, management, and service delivery.
Over 60 sessions have been arranged to fill a well-thought, wide-ranging program that covers important topics related to the theme: People on board: Transforming healthcare by blending agility, responsiveness, and resilience. Among several sessions across the four-day event, the following are some of the thought-provoking topics available in the program:
44th World Hospital Congress – Getting ready for the next global pandemic
Public health leaders and hospital CEOs will share their views on how the next global pandemic might unfold and how they are leading their organizations to prepare for the next global health crisis. Hear from:
- Rod Hochman, President and CEO, Providence, United States
- Natasha Azzopardi, Director, World Health Organization
- Bechara Couchair, Vaccinations Coordinator – White House COVID Response Team
- Josep M Campistol, CEO – Clinic Hospital, Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Spain
- Wright Lassiter III, President and CEO, Henry Ford Health System, United States
- Bertrand Levrat, CEO, Geneva University Hospital (HUG), Switzerland
Accelerating research, development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine: Lessons learned from key stakeholders
Various stakeholders will discuss key learnings from the fast-tracked journey of the COVID-19 vaccine and how these can be applied to the near future. Hear from:
- Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe, World Health Organization
- Dr. Carmen Cabezas, Secretary of Public Health, Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain
- Thomas B. Cueni, Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations
- Dr. César Hernández, Head of Department of Medicines for Human Use, Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices, Spain
- Dr. John N. Nkengasong, Director, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Ethiopia
Nursing leadership in transforming healthcare during a world-wide pandemic: Examples from the field
The importance of global nursing leadership initiatives such as Nursing Now and the Nightingale Challenge will be tackled. Nurse leaders in various roles will share the challenges they faced, successes and innovations during the pandemic. Hear from:
- Robyn Begley, CEO, American Organization for Nursing Leadership; Senior VP and Chief Nursing Officer, American Hospital Association, United States
- Lord Nigel Crisp, Former CEO at NHS in England and Former Permanent Secretary of the United Kingdom Department of Health
- Maria Eulàlia Juvé Udina, Board Member, International Council of Nurses; Nurse Executive, Catalan Institute of Health, Spain
- Adelaida Zabalegui, Vice Director of Nursing, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain
- Romnick Aguilar, Acting Chief Nurse and Infection Prevention and Control Officer, San Pedro Jose L Amante Emergency Hospital, Philippines
- Zipporah Iregi, Nursing Officer Intern, Kitui County Referral Hospital, Kenya
Harnessing innovations to build back better: European lessons from the pandemic
Key innovations in the hospital sector will be explored, specifically the areas of telemedicine and technological solutions, skill mix, and bed management to draw lessons on how to build back better our hospital services through adoption, implementation and scaling up of innovations. Hear from:
- Josep Figueras, Director, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
- Dr. med. Reinhard Busse, Head of the Department of Health Care Management, Berlin University of Technology, Germany
- Dr Nick Fahy, Senior Researcher, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, UK
- Marc Noppen, CEO, UZ Brussel, Belgium
- Dimitra Panteli, Programme Manager, Lead Health System Innovation, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
- Liisa Maria Voipio Pulkki, Director General of Strategic Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland
Humanizing technology for smart healthcare delivery: The COVID-19 impact
This will demonstrate how technology-enabled healthcare has huge potential to better humanize healthcare and deliver a more personable and dedicated patient experience. It will focus on how healthcare systems and services have fundamentally changed throughout the pandemic and how digitally enabled healthcare is now a mainstay of many hospital services around the world. Hear from:
- Richard Stubbs, Chief Executive, Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, United Kingdom
- Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., India
- Dr. Anne Snowdon, Chief Scientific Research Officer, HIMSS
- Dr. Heidi Sveistrup, CEO & Chief Scientific Officer, Bruyére Research Institute, Canada
- Yulun Wang, Founder and Chairman, World Telehealth Initiative, United States
In addition to the plenary and parallel sessions, the 44th World Hospital Congress. will include posters on display, tradeshow and exhibition by participating organizations and providers, hospital visits, special events for those attending in person and numerous networking opportunities both for present and virtual attendees.
With a highly comprehensive program to offer, the IHF and UCH invite healthcare professionals to participate and become part of the important discussion on the transformations that are affecting continuous evolution in the global health system.
Early bird registration to the 44th IHF World Hospital Congress is open until 31 August.
For more information visit www.worldhospitalcongress.org or contact congress@ihf-fih.org.