This year, HealthierHere and our partners were honored to participate in and present at Camden Coalition’s annual conference, Putting Care at the Center, in Portland, Oregon. As part of our workforce development initiative, we sponsored over 60 community based workers (CBWs), supervisors, and referral partners from the HealthierHere Community Hub to join for an opportunity to network, grow their skills, and share their expertise.

With hundreds of other cross-sector leaders, advocates, services providers, consumers, and more attending from across the country, this year’s conference centered around “Complex Care: Meeting the Moment”, offering space for learning, relationship building, and creating a shared agenda for improving care for people with complex needs.

There was a strong sense of community among the attendees and speakers. The feeling that we are not alone in our efforts to serve the underserved was reassuring. I was enriched by every interaction I had, be it with someone from our own Hub, a social worker from New York, a medical school professor from Arizona, or an attorney from California.
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– Jennifer Kramer, Community Based Worker at Within Reach

HealthierHere Community Hub CBWs participated in powerful sessions on topics such as centering people with lived experience, learning approaches to find joy in one's work, and navigating the complexities of care coordination. A training tailored to supervisors was especially impactful, helping further deepen leadership skills across our workforce.  

It was inspiring to see our CBWs connecting - sharing meals, ideas, and going to sessions together. They gained invaluable knowledge around complex care coordination and left with new tools to better serve their communities.
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– Jenna Guerrero, Workforce Development Manager, HealthierHere Community Hub

Beyond the sessions, the conference offered opportunities to connect with other Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) and peers doing similar work nationwide.  

Camden Coalition created space for folks from across the country to share their expertise on community engagement, complex care coordination, and health equity. It underscored what we all know; our current systems aren't meeting the needs of far too many. But being among so many smart, dedicated leaders was a powerful reminder that together we can turn "I" into "we" and build a better future.
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– John Kim, CEO, HealthierHere

The conference also focused on fun, self-care and collective care, offering site visits in Portland and two on-site therapy llamas to help participants tend to their well-being in-between sessions!

It was truly an amazing conference! So grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be able to be present, build connections and learn what exists! It was also wonderful to meet new people, and see familiar faces, as well!
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– Ankita Gupta, CBW at Living Well Kent

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HealthierHere staff led sessions on a variety of topics, including the following:

• State and local partnerships: Advancing Population Health Initiatives through Community Care Hubs  

• Combatting Erasure in Data-Driven Practices: How Engaging Tribes and Communities in Data Co-Creation Builds Equitable Care

• Strengthening care coordination systems through community-centered data models

• The power of Indigenous knowledge and co-creation: Decolonizing evidence-based practices in behavioral health 

The Camden conference was rejuvenating. Even as one of the only Indigenous presenters in the room of hundreds, I found so much encouragement and connection with people committed to community-led healing. I'm taking away renewed energy and hope for what we can build together when we really listen and center community wisdom.
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- Abriel Johnny, (Cowichan, Tlingit) Associate Director of Tribal Engagement at HealthierHere

It was great to connect with healthcare leaders and people on the frontlines of providing complex care in our communities. Hearing about innovative approaches to serve our communities better and hearing stories from people actively engaged in the work energized me to keep going!
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– Madelyn Devoe, Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives, HealthierHere

This experience left us invigorated, inspired, and equipped with fresh ideas to bring back home to King County, WA.  We’re excited to continue building on this momentum, strengthening our collective impact and contributing to a growing national movement for health equity.

The people’s voices, the tenacity, and the momentum is what it’s going to take to move the system. Let’s create the avenue for the work to happen.
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- Marya Gingrey, Chief Equity and Engagement Officer, HealthierHere

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