The registration desk is located in the Grande Ballroom pre-function area on the Lobby Level and will be open during the following days and hours:

Friday 8:00 AM-6:00 PM

Saturday 7:00 AM-1:15 PM

Sunday 7:00 AM-11:30 AM

Please always wear your badge. Your badge should be prominently displayed. Badges are NOT transferable and must not be shared for any purpose at the event.

Complimentary Wi-Fi connection is available for Symposium participants.

Network: Fairmont Meeting
Password: BIHS2026

Any changes to the official Symposium schedule will be posted at the registration desk. Speakers and topics are subject to change.

Request your CME Credits HERE.

Big Island Health Foundation is an accredited provider of
the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and
will be offering Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits
commensurate with attendance at individual sessions.

The CME credit request form is available online (see link above) and at the registration desk. Certificates of completion will be issued shortly after the conference.

We kindly ask that all participants complete the evaluation survey at the end of each session regardless of whether you are asking for continuing education credits. These surveys are required as documentation for accreditation with AAFP.

It is the policy of BIHF that all individuals in a position to control content disclose any relationships with commercial interests upon nomination/invitation of participation. Disclosure documents are reviewed for potential conflicts of interest and, if identified, are resolved prior to confirmation of participation. Only participants who have no conflict of interest or who agree to an identified resolution process prior to participation were involved in the CE activity.

BIHF may accept commercial support but in doing so must ensure that the education presented remains independent of any ineligible companies as defined
by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). The support must not result in commercial bias or commercial influence related to the education presented. In addition, any support should not establish a financial relationship between the ineligible company and BIHF planners, faculty and others in control of educational content.

Some of our sponsors and exhibitors may ask for a list of participant names. Please contact our registration desk if you prefer that your name be removed from this list.

If you have immediate family members wanting to join our breakfasts or Pau Hana reception (must be 21 years or older), please register at the front desk. Tickets may be issued for a fee on a first-come/first served basis depending on food and beverage availability. Non-registered guests and children are not allowed into the Symposium.

All Big Island Annual Healthcare Symposium attendees, as a condition of conference participation, understand and accept that Big Island Health Foundation has the right and permission to use photographs and/or recordings made at the Symposium on and for websites, social media pages, television and other promotional programs and publications, flyers, educational materials, and derivative works, whether for advertising, trade, or for any purpose, without compensation to attendees.

We encourage you to visit all exhibit tables. This conference would not be possible without support from our sponsors and exhibitors. Each participant will receive a bingo card with booth numbers assigned randomly. Daily drawings will be held for participants submitting black-out Bingo cards

Formed in 2025, BIHF is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization (federal tax ID 41-3150490) whose mission is to optimize access to quality healthcare services throughout the State of Hawaiʻi but primarily on Hawaiʻi Island through educational, fundraising and networking activities. Please consult your tax advisor for the deductibility of any contributions, and please let us know if you would like a copy of our IRS determination letter for your records.

11:30 AM–1:00 PM Exhibit Area Open

1:00–1:15 PM Welcome and Greetings

• Donna Mills, President, Big Island Health Foundation

• Stephany Vaioleti, Master of Ceremonies & Host

• The Honorable Kimo Alameda, County of Hawaiʻi Mayor

1:15–2:00 PM Stewarding the Resources that Advance Health and Healthcare

• Josh Green MD, Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, shares his philosophy for the state’s role to advance health and healthcare.

2:00–3:00 PM Native Hawaiian Stewardship Perspectives “Caring for People, Caring for ʻĀina” Panel

• Neal Palafox MD, MPH, Professor, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaiʻi; Mililani Trask-Batti MD, MPH, family medicine physician; and Kahea Wakinekona RN, Executive Director, Altais Care Network – East Hawaii IPA/Big Island Docs, will participate in a panel discussion facilitated by LeeAnn Heely DMgt, Vice President, Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center.

3:00–3:30 PM Break—Exhibit Area Open

3:30–4:30 PM Championing Healthcare Stewardship in Healthcare Systems and Education

• Chris Moriates MD, Chief of Hospital Medicine for the Veterans’ Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, UCLA Professor of Clinical Medicine, and Executive Director, Costs of Care, will discuss teaching stewardship to medical students. Peter Wong PhD, MBA, MS, RPh, Vice President, St. Clair Health, will discuss challenges and opportunities to reduce the length of hospital stays. Carolyn Quan MD, MHCDS, will share insights to identify wasteful services and improve efficiency.

4:30–5:30 PM Stewardship in Action: How Removing Payment Barriers Enables Better Care for Patients

• Angela Czesnakowicz MPH, Senior Director of Product Strategy & Business Development at the Integrated Healthcare Association, and Trung (Andy) Dang MD, Chief Medical Officer of Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group, will share how California physician organizations are operating value-based payment models.

5:30–6:30 PM Pau Hana Networking Reception—Exhibit Area Open

7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast—Exhibit Area Open

8:00–9:00 AM‍ Advancing Healthcare Stewardship—Engaging and Enabling Patients to Become Their Own Healthcare Heroes‍ ‍

• Rachel Willard-Grace MPH, Director of the Center for Excellence in Primary Care and Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine School at the University of California San Francisco, will share what works in action to coach patients to become their own healthcare heroes. She’ll explore how to support patients using a number of evidence-based approaches.

9:00–10:00 AM Transforming Primary Care to be Better Stewards of Healthcare

• As stewards of our patients’ health, our duty is to improve their health as affordably as possible. There is much evidence that effective primary care is key to achieving this, in spite of the fact that primary care has been in an accelerating crisis for the last several decades. Rushika Fernandopulle MD, MPP, will share his experience over the last 25 years to transform primary care.

10:00–10:30 AM Break—Exhibit Area Open

10:30–11:30 AM Advancing Stewardship in Large Health Systems

• Through compelling case studies, Christopher Awtrey MD, MBA, MHCDS, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Surgical and Procedural Specialties Peaks, Intermountain Health Medical Group Colorado, will illustrate what happens when physicians drive meaningful improvements in care by leading with their own stewardship values.

11:30 AM–12:30 PM Advanced Primary Care—Is It Worth the Investment?

• Michael Tuggy MD, Clinical Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and rural family physician at Converging Health, will share how chronic under-investment in primary care causes the challenges facing primary care today. Drawing on evidence, he will offer a contrast between investments that strengthen primary care and those that fall short.

12:45–1:45 PM Lunch Presentation (registration required)

7:00–8:30 AM Breakfast–Exhibit Area Open

8:30–9:30 AM Advancing Stewardship by Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences      

• Joan Jeung MD, MPH, FAAP, Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, will illuminate both the significance and complexity of adverse childhood experiences and their lasting impact on health and development. She will explore how pediatricians can meaningfully screen for and recognize these experiences, and how brief, well- timed interventions can make a real difference when children are still young enough to benefit most.

9:30–10:30 AM Advancing Food as Medicine

• Reshma Gupta MD, MSHPM, practicing internist and Chief of Population Health and Accountable Care, Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of California Davis and UC Office of the President, will introduce UC Davis Health’s Foodways to Health initiative — a regional approach that treats food as medicine by expanding access to fresh produce and medically tailored meals, while weaving in climate-friendly practices and deep community engagement. Dr. Gupta will then shift to a “beachside” conversation with Kristin Frost Albrecht and Kerri Okamura RPh, who lead the Food as Medicine program at Hawaiʻi Island’s food bank.

10:30–10:45 AM Break

10:45–11:45 AM GLP-1 Updates – New Insights on Treating Diabetes, Obesity, and More

• Elizabeth (Lisa) Murphy MD, DPhil, Professor of Internal Medicine, Deborah Cowan Endowed Professorship, University of California San Francisco; and Chief, Division of Endocrinology, San Francisco General Hospital, will provide updates highlighting recent GLP-1 evidence for diabetes, obesity, and more. Additionally, Dr. Murphy will share insightful stories from physician and patient experiences.

11:45 AM–12:00 PM Closing Remarks