The Morrison Family College of Health hosted its third annual Whole Person Health Summit, engaging over 200 attendees in a variety of panels, discussions, and breakout sessions. This year’s theme, “Building Power, Transforming Systems,” set the stage for thoughtful conversations about the future of healthcare, particularly when it comes to rural and underrepresented communities.
Headlining the summit were keynote speakers Dr. Prathibha Varkey, president of Mayo Clinic Health System, and Bukata Hayes, chief community health officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Nawal Osman, a participant from the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Center, was inspired by Dr. Varkey’s keynote. “My favorite part of the summit was the keynote speaker from Mayo Clinic; she went into the use of AI and how doctors are developing AI systems,” Osman shared. “That was pretty cool to hear about because so many people have different views of the use of AI tech.”
The summit also offered an opportunity to expand on people across a variety of professions. For Niara Grace Gardner, a graduate student in social work, it was enlightening. “One thing I took away from this summit was that we lead from who we are, which means leading from integrity,” Gardner said. “Not just looking at the client or patient from a diagnosis, but the whole person.”
