Putting Care at the Center is the annual conference of our National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs.

It is the only dedicated venue for members of the complex care field to learn, network, and create a shared agenda for improving care for people with complex needs.

Our conference is interprofessional and cross-sector by design. Attendees work in a diverse range of sectors and institutions and include:

• healthcare and social service providers,
• policymakers,
• researchers,
• advocates,
• complex care consumers and caregivers,
• and more.

Putting Care at the Center is held in a different city each year, co-hosted with a local organization. Former conference locales and hosts include:

• 2016 – Philadelphia
• 2017 – Los Angeles, co-hosted with Kaiser Permanente
• 2018 – Chicago, co-hosted with Rush University Medical Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• 2019 – Memphis, co-hosted with Regional One Health
• 2020 & 2021 – virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• 2022 – Sacramento, co-hosted with Adventist Health
• 2023 – Boston, co-hosted with Commonwealth Care Alliance and the Center to Advance Community Partnership
• 2024 – Pittsburgh, co-hosted with UPMC Health Plan

About Putting Care at the Center 2025

Co-hosted with CareOregon, this year’s event will take place October 15-17 in Portland, Oregon, with pre-conference events on October 14, at the Hilton Portland Downtown hotel.

For the latest updates on Putting Care at the Center 2024, follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky, and sign up for our newsletter. Join the conversation by using #CenteringCare25.

This year’s conference theme

The theme of Putting Care at the Center 2025 is Complex care: Meeting the moment.

Committee members

External Advisory Committee

• Amit Shah — CareOregon (2025 co-host)
• Jonathan Weedman — CareOregon (2025 co-host)
• Kayleen Van Duzer — CareOregon (2025 co-host)
• Alayna Tillman — Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center
• Alexandra De Kesel Loftus — ADKL Consulting
• Bonnie Ewald — Center for Health and Social Care Integration, RUSH University Medical Center
• Dennis Heaphy — Disability Policy Consortium
• James Schuster — UPMC Health Plan
• Jim Hickman — Hickman Strategies
• Jodie Bryk — University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
• Kathy Moses — Center for Health Care Strategies
• Kathy Stillo
• LaKeesha Dumas —  None Left Behind
• Logan Kelly — Center for Health Care Strategies
• Mariana Saenz — Kaiser Permanente
• Melinda Karp — The Center to Advance Consumer Partnership
• Michelle Wong — Kaiser Permanente
• Stephen Hoy — PFCC Partners

Regional Advisory Committee

• Abby Sears — OCHIN
• Alexa Jett — CareOregon
• Alison Noice — CODA
• Amit Shah — CareOregon
• Andy Mendenhall — Central City Concern
• Alyssa Franzen — CareOregon
• Barb Hansen — Oregon Hospice and Palliative Care Association
• Becky Wilkinson — Providence St. Joseph
• Brandi Williams — SWATCH
• Carly Hood-Ronick — Project Access Now
• Charissa Young-White — Oregon Health Authority
• Dana Gress — Genoa
• Dwight Holton — Lines for Life
• Emily Cooper — Disability Rights Oregon
• Enrique Enguidanos — CBC Solutions
• Erin Fair Taylor — PacificSource Health Plans
• Gina Maraist — UniteUs
• Graham Bouldin — Health Share of Oregon
• Holden Leung — Asian Health & Service Center
• Jackie Mercer — NARA Northwest
• Janice Tufte — Hassanah Consulting
• James Slater — CareOregon
• Jill Archer — CareOregon
• Karen Boudreau
• Kathy Burgoyne — Uncommon Solutions
• Kelli Houston — CHPW
• LaKeesha Dumas — Multnomah County Mental Health and Addictions Services Division
• Laura Hastings-Brooks — OCHIN
• Linda Cruz — Providence
• Liz Whitworth — OHLC
• Maggie Bennington-Davis — Health Share of Oregon
• Mark Fulop — Store to Door
• Martine Sacks — CareOregon
• Mary Engrav — CareOregon
• Monta Knudsen — Bridges to Change
• Nicole Friedman — Kaiser Permanente
• Nicole Merrithew — CareOregon
• Oliva Stone — CareOregon
• O’Nesha Cochran
• Peter Merritt — Project Access Now
• Priyal Patel — OBOP
• Rebecca Ramsay — House Call Providers
• Safina Koreishi — CareOregon
• Suki Conrad — CareOregon
• Tania Curiel — Oregon Health Authority
• Uche Nwizu — Neighborhood Health Center