Pre-conference opportunities at Putting Care at the Center 2026
Additional offerings at Putting Care at the Center 2026
We will be offering supplemental learning activities on Tuesday, October 13, prior to the start of the conference which will run from Wednesday, October 14 to Friday, October 16. During the conference registration process, you will be able to select the pre-conference session you would like to attend. Spaces are limited, so register early to secure your spot.
If you have any questions, please contact Carly Moore at [email protected].
Complex care essentials: Principles, partnerships, and practice
Hosted by Camden Coalition
Complex Care Essentials is a pre-conference experience that introduces the core principles of complex care while creating more space for dialogue, application, and peer learning. Designed for attendees who are new to the field or looking to get grounded in shared concepts and language, this session combines self-paced learning with interactive, in-person discussion.
This format is intended to lay a strong foundation for the rest of the conference, equipping participants with shared context while creating meaningful opportunities to learn from experts and one another.
CEUs are available for this session.
Time: 2-5 pm PT
Who should attend: Attendees who are new to the field or looking to get grounded in shared concepts and language.
If you have any questions about session only or two-day passes, please contact Carly Moore at [email protected].
From intent to impact: Creating a roadmap to engage people with lived experience in your own work
Hosted by Camden Coalition, The Center to Advance Consumer Partnership (CACP), and PFCCpartners
Community engagement (CE) is a powerful tool for organizations and communities that want to create lasting and positive change. When done well, CE builds trust, reduces health disparities, creates cost-savings and efficiencies for organizations, and leads to healthy and thriving communities. Despite this potential, many implementation challenges arise as organizations and people with lived experience (PWLE) endeavor to work together. During this interactive, hands-on workshop participants will reflect on the current state of how their organizations builds partnerships with PWLE and build a custom roadmap to strengthen their work through impactful and feasible practices – rooted in the success of other organizations across the country.
Time: 2-5 pm PT
Who should attend: People who work to meaningfully engage people with lived experience (PWLE) in designing, delivering, or evaluating health and social care programs. This includes PWLE themselves, health and social care leaders, program managers, supervisors, executive leaders, community engagement professionals, quality improvement staff, and researchers.
Healthcare social work values: Leading in a time of change
Hosted by the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care
This pre-conference will highlight the critical role of healthcare social work during times of transformation. Through evidence-based presentations and shared dialogue, participants will explore value-driven leadership, adaptive practice, and innovative strategies to build sustainable pathways for the future of healthcare social work. We encourage all healthcare social workers—across all settings and populations—to participate.
CEUs are available for this session
Time: 1-5 pm PT
Who should attend: Healthcare social workers
Leading and sustaining hubs in a changing environment
Hosted by California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (CACHI), Funders Forum on Accountable Health, Pathways Community Hub, Partnership to Align Community Care, Uncommon Solutions, and USAging
This pre-conference session is designed for hub and backbone leaders navigating the complex, day-to-day realities of leading networks in a shifting policy, funding, and partnership landscape. Grounded in real-world challenges, the session will create space for peer learning, shared problem-solving, and practical strategy development.
Time: 1-4 pm PT
Who should attend: This session is designed for leaders of hub and backbone organizations, including program directors and senior staff responsible for network management, partnerships, financing, or strategy. Leaders are encouraged to attend with a partner or leadership teammate to support deeper reflection and application.
Organizing for impact: Building statewide MLP coalitions for coordination, policy, and scale
Hosted by National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership
As the medical-legal partnership (MLP) field matures, practitioners are increasingly forming state level coalitions to coordinate partners, build shared infrastructure, and promote policy and sustainable investment. In this interactive session, the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership will highlight emerging coalition models, explain core functions like governance, shared learning, communications, and advocacy, and provide practical tools that fit with national MLP initiatives. Participants will identify stakeholders, outline a coalition value proposition, and create a 90-day start-up plan with measurable goals. This session is for MLP teams that a real ready coordinating statewide efforts and those considering whether a coalition could boost growth.
CLEs are available for this session.
Time: 1-5 pm PT
The new healthcare leader: Navigating power, policy, and the cost of inaction
Hosted by HealthBegins
In a climate of shifting political mandates and social volatility, healthcare leaders face a defining choice: reactive retreat or strategic engagement. This session provides a preview of the HealthBegins Policy and Power-building Leadership Skills Course, where participants explore the direct link between a robust democracy and a flourishing healthcare environment, and gain the skills to build the cross-sector solidarity required to protect both their mission and their bottom line.
In this session, we begin by examining the “social arrangements” and historical drivers that created our current political moment, illustrating why organizational neutrality is not a viable business or clinical strategy for an institution committed to health equity. Moving beyond rhetoric, this workshop equips leaders with a pragmatic power analysis and risk assessment framework designed to build durable political capital.
Time: 1-4 pm PT