2026 Massachusetts Healthcare Summit
Coming together to strengthen rural and community health across the Commonwealth
Join us for our fourth annual healthcare summit! Register today >
No cost to attendBreakfast and lunch will be provided by award-winning UMass DiningOpen to allHealthcare Career Fair immediately follows from 1 p.m to 3 p.m.
Join leaders from healthcare, higher education, government, public health, community health centers, long‑term care, and assisted living to address one of the Commonwealth’s most pressing challenges: strengthening the workforce that serves rural and medically underserved communities.
This year’s summit will highlight strategies, partnerships, and practical solutions for building a resilient, community‑based health workforce:
The growing need for community health workers and community‑based health professionalsWorkforce shortages at community health centersRecruitment and retention challenges in rural health settingsStaffing needs in assisted living, skilled nursing, and long‑term care facilitiesStrategies to strengthen care delivery in medically underserved and rural communitiesUniversity, provider, public health, and state collaborations to develop sustainable workforce solutions
Agenda
8 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast
8:30 a.m.
Welcome remarksSpeakers: Dean Allison Vorderstrasse, Sen. Jo Comerford, Rep. Mindy Domb, and Chancellor Javier Reyes
9 a.m.
Anchors of Access: Elevating Community Health Centers as Frontline Care EnginesPanelists: Michael Purdy, Chief Executive Officer, Hilltown Community Health; Tania Barber, President and CEO, Caring Health Center; Mary Ellen McIntyre, Executive Vice President, Grants, Programs and Operations, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; Allison van der Velden, Chief Executive Officer, Franklin County Community Health CenterModerator: Tinamarie Fioroni, Vice President of Workforce Development and Learning, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers
9:45 a.m.
Transforming Aging in Rural Communities: How Leaders Create the Future TogetherAlice Bonner, Chair, Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition
10:10 a.m.
Care Beyond the Clinic: Reimagining Home Health and Long Term Support SystemsPanelists: Maggie Messer, Director Talent Acquisition and Employee Engagement, Integritus Healthcare; Tamara Bedard, Central Region, Local Public Health Nurse Consultant, UMass Amherst Marieb College of Nursing; Peter Lindenauer, Chair, Department of Healthcare Delivery and Population Sciences, Baystate Health; Adam Delmolino, Vice-President, Innovation & Care Transformation, Massachusetts Health & Hospital AssociationModerator: Alice Bonner, Chair, Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition
10:55 a.m.
Shortage to Solution: Building the Massachusetts' Nursing Career PathwayJay Prosser, Executive Director, Nursing Council for Workforce Sustainability
11:30 a.m.
Legislating Equity: Funding, Frameworks, and the Future of Rural Health PolicyPanelists: Eliza Lake, Director of Health Policy and Strategic Initiatives at Executive Office of Health and Human Services; Phoebe Walker, Director of Community Health, Franklin Regional Council of Governments; Tara Gregorio, President, Massachusetts Senior Care AssociationModerator: Michael Lepore, Associate Dean for Research, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, UMass Amherst
12 p.m
Closing remarks and lunch
Thank you to our lead legislative sponsors!
Jo Comerford, Mass. State Senator for Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester counties. Chairperson, Joint Committee on Higher Education.
Mindy Domb, Mass. State Representative, Third Hampshire District. Chair, Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery.
Western Mass legislative delegation
State Senators
Sen. Jo ComerfordSen. Adam GomezSen. Jake OliveiraSen. John VelisSen. Paul Mark
State Representatives
Representative Shirley ArriagaRepresentative Brian AsheRepresentative John Barrett IIIRepresentative Leigh DavisRepresentative Mindy DombRepresentative Patricia DuffyRepresentative Tricia Farley-BouvierRepresentative Michael J. FinnRepresentative Homar GomezRepresentative Carlos GonzalezRepresentative Angelo PuppoloRepresentative Lindsay SabadosaRepresentative Aaron SaundersRepresentative Todd SmolaRepresentative Susannah WhippsRepresentative Kelly Pease