Speaker: Akram Boutros, M.D., CEO and President, MetroHealth System Cuyahoga County ranks 75th out of Ohio’s 88 counties in health outcomes. MetroHealth has transformed its healthcare system to address the social determinants of health. Example: the H.O.P.E program (Health, Opportunity, Partnership, Empowerment) addresses health disparities due to social isolation, food, housing and employment insecurity. A variety … Continue reading Transforming Health Care: What’s Coming?

Speakers: Bob Rosenbaum, Co-Chair, Heights Observer. Panel: Sharon Broussard, Project Manager, NEO Solutions Journalism Collaborative, and Jim O’Bryan, Founder, Observer Media Project. Factual, independent news media is the bulwark of democracy. Fake news, lies, and manipulation of facts influence a large majority of the population via social media, radio and TV. Are local, non-profit media … Continue reading Democracy, Non-Profit News, and the Future

Speaker: Robert Rich, Director, Center for Inflation Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Inflation has multiple impacts on our lives and communities, and it has surged over the past year. The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of inflation, rose 6.8% last November, the largest increase since 1982. The current elevated readings serve as a … Continue reading The Pandemic and the Inflation Outlook

Speakers: Jessie Hill, Professor, CWRU Law School; Lisa Reisz, JD., Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP What are the fundamental rights of women? Can they exist alongside religious beliefs and the right to life, or not? The choice of whether to have children, when and with whom is central to gender equality and the ability to … Continue reading Government Mandated Pregnancy: Supreme Court or State’s Rights

Speakers: Chris Knestrick, Executive Director, Northeast Ohio Coalition of Homeless (NEOCH); Jean Kosmac, Street Outreach Worker; Angelo Anderson, an activist who has experienced homelessness. In Cuyahoga County, 6,000 people experience homelessness, according to Housing and Urban Development (HUD). What factors cause loss of homes and who helps people find shelter?

Speakers: Fred Bidwell, FRONT International Founder; Gregory Peckham, Executive Director, LAND Studio Colorful murals decorating Midtown industrial walls. The giant hand sculpture outside Cleveland’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Underground Railroad photos amidst church pews. These projects are among many of two Cleveland arts organizations: LAND Studios (https://www.land-studio.org), and FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art … Continue reading Cleveland Public Art: Outside the Box

Speakers: Cheryl Johncox, Fossil Fuels Organizer, Sierra Club, and Ted Auch, Ph.D., Director, FracTracker Alliance, Great Lakes Program. The brine that the fracking industry produces as waste is being used on Ohio’s roads as a de-icer. Limited testing indicates the brine contains radioactive concentrations that can pollute soil or become airborne as radioactive dust, thus … Continue reading Fracking, Radioactive Brine and Icy Roads

Speakers: Brent Larkin, Columnist, cleveland.com; Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan (R-24) Gun deaths rose 43% from 2010 to 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. The Gun Violence Archive reports more than 350 mass shootings in the first half of 2022. Recently, Ohio passed two gun laws: one expands concealed carry laws and the another … Continue reading Guns: How Can We Keep Our Loved Ones Safe?

Speakers: Adarsh Krishen MD, MMM, FAAFP, Chief Medical Officer, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio; Mary Schatzman RN, gynecology, Northeast Ohio Women's Center What will the vulnerable do without Roe? A strong social safety net will be critical to helping women cope with an unintended pregnancy and delivery, not to mention a newborn. It will be … Continue reading Post-Roe: Impact & Options

Speakers: Kate Mozynski, Staff Attorney, Equality Ohio; Phyllis "Seven" Harris, Executive Director, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland Most of us know people who are gay, lesbian or transgender, but many don’t understand what it means to be non-binary. An estimated 11% of LGBTQ adults in the US, approximately 1.2 million, identify as nonbinary, according … Continue reading Getting to Know Non-Binary People

Speakers: Sally Martin, Director, and Tim Kobie, Manager, Strategic Code Enforcement Initiatives, both of Cleveland Building and Housing Department; Ayonna Blue Donald, Vice President, Ohio Market, Enterprise Community Partners The cost of purchasing a home has skyrocketed, and rental costs have increased as well. It has become especially difficult to find affordable housing in marginalized … Continue reading Where Have All the (Affordable) Houses Gone?

Speakers: Donna Graham, Vice President, Revenue Cycle, MetroHealth Medical Center; Kinsey Jolliff, Principal, Health Policy & Payment Innovation, The MetroHealth System. Staffing shortages, rising expenses, supply chain issues and limited bed availability are major problems for the healthcare industry.  All this leads to funding challenges. How does it affect the average patient?