“ Dr. Bill” William Morehouse, MD

We all know that prayer is “where the rubber hits the road” in our faith, but how do we demonstrate and incorporate the powerful instrument of intercession in our daily lives and especially in our patient encounters? How do we carry the difficulties faced by patients to God and communicate the relevant aspects of the “Good News” back to patients in the clinical setting.

Problem addressed:

We spend a lot of time taking clinical care of people, but how does prayer fit in? Does God want us to pray openly with people? Is verbal prayer appropriate? How can we do it so that it will be received?

Esther Kim, MD with Panel

Join us for a panel discussion with support staff from Ethne Health, a community clinic located in Clarkston, GA, a city dubbed the "most diverse square mile in the America." The staff will share how their previous work experiences, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and their faith have helped them care for a diverse group of patients, with care provided in over 30 different languages. We hope their stories of hope and healing will be a catalyst to attendees to begin thinking about ways they can care for the refugees and immigrants in their communities.

Hello, World!

Alyssa Sianghio, CAO

This session will focus on how we reflect our values and mission in the language and content of grant applications and donation pitches. We'll focus on how to review opportunities - when to say yes and, even more importantly, how to evaluate when to say no. We will discuss some useful strategies to ease the burdens of reporting, financial management, and program requirements to help us stay focused on what matters - our patients.

Morgan Wills, MD, MATS

Not all those in the CCHF movement are called to be medical professionals, but all of us will at some point be called to become patients. How do we do that faithfully? And how might we encourage our current or future patients to do so? Using stories from Scripture, his career serving immigrants and refugees at Siloam Health in Nashville, and his own recent personal experience as a wounded healer, Dr. Wills will invite workshop participants into a vision of what it means to follow Christ in the often confusing world of modern medicine. By situating illness and medicine within a larger story, we will consider how Jesus offers the illness experience as an opportunity to disciple all of us--on both sides of the white coat.

Steve Noblett, CEO

If this is your first CCHF conference, START HERE! Learn about the roots and direction of the movement of God's people to live out the gospel through healthcare among those who are experiencing poverty. Identify opportunities and bottlenecks in this ongoing move of God, and understand how to find your place as you seek to serve the purpose of God in your generation

Heather Eddy with Panel of Board Members

The Board is empowered and accountable for ensuring excellent leadership is in place at all times. A thoughtful and intentional planning process is crucial for any organization to be prepared for the potential departure of a leader - particularly a long-time leader and /or founder.

Less than 5 years ago, 75% of nonprofit executives did not plan to be in their current role in five years, nor head another nonprofit. Then, the pandemic. When Boards are forced to approach Leadership Transition/Succession Planning unexpectedly or within a short timeframe, they scramble to find knowledgeable resources about the complexity of today’s CEO/ED role. 

This session will outline an intentional approach to Leadership and Succession Planning as an ongoing Board topic. We will share what the Board should focus on annually related to leadership development, as well as how to ensure that your Board is “ready” at any point to undertake a search for a new leader. Participants will learn relevant information about the current executive market and offer suggestions for the Board Chair during a transition, including the role of the current CEO and an ideal 24 month timeline. 

Robert Contino, MD, CEO with Sean Lindsey, MD

Clarkston, Georgia has been a center for refugee resettlement since the 1980s. As a result, this small town just outside Atlanta has earned the title of “America’s most diverse square mile.” In 2017 Ethne Health was founded as a primary care clinic to serve this population and show Jesus’ love. In this session, the founding physicians of Ethne will explore the unique challenges of providing holistic care for refugees in a primary care setting. We will review how a person becomes a refugee, discuss the biblical mandate for refugee care, and tell the story of how Clarkston's unique makeup Clarkston has shaped our response to Jesus’s command to “love thy neighbor.”

Robert Record, MD

We each enter incarnational healthcare ministry through a calling to serve our neighbors, especially those who struggle. Our practices and our team members are missional, engaged and resilient on the good end and overly-expectant and prone to disillusionment on the struggling end. The massive amount of need around us and the complexity of modern medical practice management are more than enough in themselves. Couple these with our missional needs and ever-growing volume, and it is easy to see how we might struggle to have a culture that meets our ideals. and culture is not enough, we want organizational health.

CME Accredited

Rebecca Swift, LCSW

Working with the same patients and their families over many years serves to deepen trust, build empathy, and give perspective. In this session, I will share the ways that God has used consistency and meaningful presence has impacted patients’ complex medical diagnoses and their mental health. Sometimes longevity can be seen as a burden, but in this session, I will share three case examples where there was beauty in longevity. Co-Presenters: Kristin Martel, MD., Lauren Smith, FNP-C

Debra Ortiz-Vasquez, JD

Over the past decade, Esperanza Health Center (EHC) has sought to meaningfully educate and leverage community members to be resources for health and wellness in their spheres of influence. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic propelled us to think creatively around ways to equitably employ community members, thus extending our presence in the community and our ability to respond to emerging needs. This session will utilize EHC’s Community COVID Ambassador program, developed in response to COVID-19 fears and misinformation, as a case study in equitable community engagement. We will also touch on other engagement models. Panel: Lianette Pappaterra, MPH; Maryann Salib, DO, MPH; Anna Cole; Darlene Burton (Community Covid Ambassador)

CME Accredited

Brian Reinhardt, MD

Caring for the poor has so many complexities. In our time together, we will explore one model of caring for the poor--direct primary care (DPC). As a lesser known approach to healthcare, we will begin with a nuts and bolts explanation of how DPC operates. Then, we will see the areas where DPC shines in caring for the poor. We think that DPC is one spoke, amongst multiple, in the wheel of caring for the poor. For this wheel to operate well, we must support each other. Finally, we will challenge you to ask how you are uniquely wired to fit into this wheel.

CME Accredited

Wayne Detmer, MD

In his 2010 seminal book "To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World", sociologist James Davison Hunter suggests a new paradigm for Christian cultural engagement. Hunter encourages Christians to become a “faithful presence” in our communities. This workshop will tell the story of how a partnership between LCHC, the Chicago Department of Public Health, private service providers, homeless shelters, and academic medical centers served to protect 259 of the most vulnerable people living in shelters by housing them in a boutique hotel in the heart of Chicago. It will present example of the corporate practice of “faithful presence” as a model for cultural engagement in a pluralistic society.

Kyle Vath, BSN, MHA, RN

Healthcare ministries are complex organisms. As our ministries grow, they increase in complexity and many times, sacrifice their efficiency and core ministry if the complex systems are not "tuned-up" from time-to-time. Kyle will share some practical, best-practice recommendations for ensuring your healthcare ministry is functioning at it's greatest potential, allowing your ministry to thrive and serve!

Anna Rowell, Medical Student with Rebecca Li

Often, the journey to medical school is seen as a step-by-step path that must be followed, with any deviation from it being seen as abnormal. However, through our own personal experiences, we have seen how a gap year can have a profound impact on a student’s view of medicine and life in community. In this session, we will share how God used our gap year experiences in Memphis, TN and Clarkston, GA to change and grow us, as well as teach us what the Great Commission looks like in our everyday interactions. This session is open to anyone interested in learning about missional gap year(s), and how students can benefit from these experiences

Jennifer Kendall, MD

Physician burnout is real. Vicarious trauma hits harder than you anticipate. Anxiety, doubt, and insecurities can creep in before you even recognize them. Our job carries a HEAVY weight with it. So how do we deal with it all? Sometimes it seems like this profession doesn't actually allow you to "put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping another". Yet, this "new age" of self-care culture seems to put "me first". As Christians, how do we navigate all the content out there on self-care? Let's look at what the Bible actually says about caring for ourselves, rest, and cultivating resilience.

Katie Stinar, AFC

James 1:10 (NIV) states, "the rich should take pride in their humiliation." Medical professionals are among the better-paid half of our society. Our attitudes about wealth are so easily shaped by American culture and values, even those of us who work with the poor. We'll discuss the spiritual implications of wealth and affluence and how we must renew our minds to live our financial lives as true disciples of Jesus and to think rightly about our less-financially-fortunate patients.

Robert Doe, MD

The gospel of Luke, written by a physician, guides us in the supernatural way of healing that was common in the early church. Western medicine has moved, in the last 100 years, away from a "priestly" model of function for healthcare professionals into a more scientific and business role. Mission medicine, such as was described by Dr. Daniel Fountain, incorporates the gospel of the kingdom in effective ways. We will explore models of integration of Body, Soul and Spirit care into our current practice of medicine. The specific experience of our Urgent and Primary Care clinic in Kona Hawaii, done in conjunction with YWAM Kona, will illustrate several approaches and possibilities.

James Shultz, MDiv, DMin

Recent research has emerged documenting supernatural activity of healing in modern times. This session will survey that research. Many Western and American Christians either do not believe or live as if they do not believe supernatural healing is possible.

Lynn Ivanek, BS with Marvin Hardy, MD

This session will describe how Grace Medical Home, a charitable clinic started in 2010 with a small staff and budget, grew quickly in response to a large community need. In order to meet this demand, the board and staff intentionally focused on sustainable ways to grow revenue without consideration of changing our mission and model. Grace now enjoys wide community support and sustains an annual operating budget of roughly $3.5 million which is more than twice the amount of the median nonprofit’s budget, successfully completed a $9 million Capital Campaign in less than a year, and maintains reserve funding of 6 months operating expenses.

CME Accredited

Warren Yamashita, MD MPH

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have seen a rise in the polydrug overdose epidemic now surpassing over 100,000 deaths in this last year. While those in ministry & health care are called to this battle, too often we are siloed or even divided over disagreements about medications or therapy frameworks. The controversy on whether to prescribe Medication Assisted Therapy such as Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder, often divides clinicians and Church ministries. Sometimes there is disagreement on recommending psychotherapy or biblical counseling.