Community forum to focus on healthcare reform – Nov. 4

Expert panelists and members of the public will share their diverse views on healthcare reform in a McKinnon Hall program designed to foster conversation in a respectful environment.

Healthcare reform takes center stage at Elon University this month in the first of three “Community Connections” programs planned on campus this year where students, professors, industry experts and community members will discuss and debate salient public policy issues.

The first forum takes place Monday, Nov. 4, from 7-8:15 p.m. in the Moseley Center.

Invited panelists include:

  • Preston Hammock, president and COO of Alamance Regional Medical Center
  • Resa Walch, senior lecturer of health and human performance at Elon University
  • Susan Osborne, director of Alamance County’s Department of Social Services

Nine “lay” panelists from both on campus and the local community will offer their own remarks on the topic. Kenn Gaither, associate dean of the School of Communications, will moderate the event. 

The event will be interactive and include questions from the audience as well as “poll everywhere” technology. A reception following the event will provide space for informal discussions.

The Community Connections series was created to bring together members of the Elon University and surrounding communities to discuss important issues in an open and respectful manner.

Healthcare reform was the favored issue among students who voted on a variety of public policy topics during a recent College Coffee. It was also favored among website visitors to the Times-News website. Organizers have yet to decide the issues for a forum tentatively scheduled in January and a forum planned for April.

The healthcare forum follows a May 2013 program similar in design and scope in which the community discussed factors that contribute to gun violence in the United States.

For more information, contact Catherine Parsons at cparsons@elon.edu.