News and Events

📅 Date: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026

🕰️ Time: Noon – 1 p.m. PT

💵 Cost: Members – FREE | Non-members – $20

Figuring out what to measure, when to measure it and how to distribute results can be challenging for communication leaders. AI and other technologies are also changing the game in terms of what matters most when it comes to media strategy and PR planning that generate strong results.

HCNW board member Alan Shoebridge will be joined by featured guest Heather Pease, marketing and communication director for Adventist Health in Oregon.

Heather will address how responding to advances in AI-influenced search has changed her team’s overall media relations strategies and what ultimately gets tracked and reported out to stakeholders.

About this series:

Much more than a webinar, these one-hour, discussion-focused virtual meetings are designed to encourage audience participation and help you build connections with other healthcare communication leaders in Oregon and Washington.

These conversations are intended for healthcare communicators who manage teams or are senior-level professionals with deep experience in this field.

The series is facilitated by Alan Shoebridge, associate vice president for national communication at Providence.

Webinar cost:

• Members: FREE with 12-month membership.Memberships are $125 per person. Membership must be active on the day of the webinar. If you’re not sure whether your membership is/will be active, email Membership@healthcarecommunicatorsnw.org. Visit HCNW’s website here if you’d like to become a member/renew your membership.
• Non-members: $20

Welcome to the 2026 Healthcare Communicators Northwest Conference!

Join us for a day of learning, connection, and inspiration at the University of Oregon Concordia Campus in Portland. This in-person event brings together healthcare communicators from across the Northwest region for a full day of expert insights, peer conversation, and practical takeaways you can put to work immediately.

Theme: Leading Through Change: Communicate with Confidence and Purpose

The ground is shifting beneath healthcare communicators everywhere – politically, demographically, and technologically. At HCNW’s 2026 fall conference, we’ll help you find your footing. From understanding the sweeping forces reshaping our industry to mastering the tools and strategies that cut through noise and build trust, this day is designed to send you back to your organization with clarity, confidence, and a concrete plan.

Sessions and speakers include:

• Everything Is Changing: The Landscape Every Health Care Communicator Needs to Understand – DJ Wilson of the new Health Policy Commons sets the stage with a grounding keynote on the political, demographic, and workforce forces shaping healthcare today

• How People Interact with Healthcare Information – Muckrack explores the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and what it means for getting your stories found and trusted

• How You Can Help Reporters Tell the Story of Change – A panel of Oregon and Washington healthcare journalists shares what they’re looking for and how communicators can help them navigate complexity, featuring reporters from The Lund Report, Willamette Week and more.

• Trust and Health: An Update – Erin Schwille, EVP at Edelman, returns with the latest findings from the Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health, including strategies for breaking through in an era of misinformation and AI-generated content

• Making It Work: Communicators Managing Change in Their Organizations – A practical case study session featuring communicators sharing real-world approaches to leading through organizational change

Event details

Date: Friday, Nov. 13, 2026

Location:
University of Oregon, Concordia Campus
Confluence Community Room
2800 NE Liberty St., Portland

Parking: Free. Park anywhere on campus.

Light breakfast and lunch provided. Check out our full conference program schedule for detailed session descriptions, start times, and speaker information.

We can’t wait to see you in Portland!

Event ticket pricing:

• Members: FREE with 12-month membership: Memberships are $125 per person. Note: Membership must be active on the day of the conference. If you’re not sure whether your membership is/will be active, email Membership@healthcarecommunicatorsnw.org. If you need to renew your membership, you can do so by registering for the conference on Eventbrite.
• Non-Members: One-step conference registration + become/renew your HCNW membership is available on Eventbrite. The cost per person is our standard membership rate of $125, plus fee. Group member sign up + registration can be done through this option.