2025 Healthcare Communicators Northwest Conference

Hear from Edelman, the experts who produce the annual Trust Barometer, about their trust report on the health care sector.

Communications representatives from various sectors of health care speak about their challenges and successes and how they’re navigating their roles within their organization to drive credibility in communications.

Hear from experts in internal communications who can share how they have motivated and encouraged their teams – and get ready to join a conversation with your colleagues to share your own thoughts and best practices.

Menu: Seasonal house salad (dairy free, wheat free, vegetarian), chicken enchilada Verde, vetertarian enchilada rojo (vegerarian, wheat free).

HCNW wants to hear from you about the biggest issues facing organizations today to help us identify topics and speakers for future sessions and better understand how people want to be engaged.

Digital tools are increasingly a way communicators can reach their target audiences, build trust and drive engagement and action. Hear from experts who can share some of their successes.

The role of storytelling is a powerful way to engage audiences in these highly polarized and political times. Hear from some of your colleagues who share campaigns that have leaned on storytelling to get their messages out.

Hear from Edelman, the experts who produce the annual Trust Barometer, about their trust report on the health care sector. Who are the trusted resources in the broad health care industry? What are people’s trusted news sources? How can communicators break through to ensure our communications resonate as we work to keep our communities healthy? Learn what the research shows to set the context for our day, as well as gain valuable insights to inform your communications.

Erin guides Edelman’s Health practice, where she advises leading hospitals and health systems on reputation management, crisis communications, and stakeholder engagement. With more than a decade of sector-specific experience, she has counseled organizations including Mayo Clinic, Mass General Brigham and AdventHealth in navigating complex challenges to strengthen trust and position for long-term success. (LinkedIn)

Health care communicators are navigating shifting sands given big changes in federal policy and state responses, federal budget cut challenges, industry financal headwinds, rising health care costs for patients and health plan members, a high-profile killing of an insurance executive that brought vitriol forward, and more. Given what we know of the big picture view of trust of health care broadly and these uncertain times, how is this playing out on the ground?

Communications representatives from various sectors of health care speak about their challenges and successes and how they’re navigating their roles within their organization to drive credibility in communications.

Susan leads external communications, including reputation management, public relations, stakeholder communications, social media and brand journalism for Cambia and its regional health plans in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington. She provides strategic counsel on communications, including executive thought leadership, to tell the story of how Cambia and its regional health plans help transform health care for people and their families. (LinkedIn)

Being resilient during tough times can be easier said than done and fighting compassion fatigue on top of it can lead to employee burnout. But some health care organizations have built incredibly strong teams with cultures that have withstood the swirl around our industry, ensuring a positive focus on the work to be done. Hear from experts in internal communications who can share how they have motivated and encouraged their teams – and get ready to join a conversation with your colleagues to share your own thoughts and best practices.

Becca serves as the Communications Director for the Hospital Association of Oregon, where she supports Oregon’s 61 community hospitals through storytelling, media relations, and crafting materials to support advocacy efforts. Becca has nearly 20 years of experience in communications, including working in-house with an FQHC, a Medicaid health plan, and now Oregon’s hospital trade association. (LinkedIn)

HCNW wants to hear from you about the biggest issues facing organizations today to help us identify topics and speakers for future sessions and better understand how people want to be engaged.

Alan serves as Associate VP/Chief Communication Officer for national communications at Providence, one of the largest healthcare systems in the nation. His main focus is on developing and executing comprehensive internal and external communications strategies that help improve brand perception, manage crises, and foster stakeholder engagement. (LinkedIn)

Digital tools are increasingly a way communicators can reach their target audiences, build trust and drive engagement and action. As the media landscape changes and organizations drive their own brand journalism or work to influence audiences, these tools offer a sophisticated way to distribute campaigns. Everyone has a smart phone! What are the strategies and tactics that make such campaigns effective? How sophisticated does the approach have to be? What does it take – in research, resources, time, skill and platforms – and what is the ROI for such targeted communications? Hear from experts who can share some of their successes.

Michelle Cole is an award-winning journalist and communications strategist who appreciates a challenge, whether it’s a short-term crisis or helping clients to navigate complex issues. Over the past decade as a consultant, she has acquired extensive experience in the nonprofit, health care and education sectors. Before joining Gallatin, Michelle served as the capitol bureau chief for The Oregonian, where she reported on the Oregon Legislature, state government and Northwest politics. (LinkedIn)

End the day with some inspiration. The role of storytelling is a powerful way to engage audiences in these highly polarized and political times. Edelman’s research from the morning shows who is a trusted and authentic voice in our industry and who is not – so how do you leverage that data/research to dig into storytelling for your organization? What are the elements of story that have proved successful, what are the best ways to deploy those? Hear from some of your colleagues who share campaigns that have leaned on storytelling to get their messages out.

Ryan heads up Portland-based brand strategy and public relations agency, Leverenz & Associates, which specializes in advising organizations at the intersection of business growth, community impact, and cultural engagement. Leverenz and his agency possess more than two decades of experience in strategic communications and brand marketing in healthcare and education, including OHSU, Hillsboro Medical Center, the Hospital Association of Oregon, POIC, The Alano Club of Portland, the University of Oregon, Pfizer, and Novartis.