Be a Bridge: Golden Opportunities to Connect and Engage

2008 Annual Conference and Exhibits
September 17-20 ~ San Francisco, CA

Register now!

Are you ready to get CONNECTED?!

Good! Because we’ve tailored this year’s annual conference to bring you only the best in education. You’ll find presentations by the nation’s premier thought leaders, plus concurrent sessions designed to give you concepts and skills that will pay off immediately back at the office.

You’ll also have plenty of time for networking, visiting the exhibit hall, and getting inspired by our General Session speakers. Our annual conference is truly the best place for connecting great ideas and great people.

Don't miss the opportunity to get connected with the best and the brightest in our profession!

Throughout four exciting days, you will trade ideas with your peers and learn from today's foremost leaders and thinkers. You will have the opportunity to evaluate your current practices, all while you build powerful communities of colleagues, business partners and friends.

Four Days, Four Ways to Connect

Connect professionally by sharing ideas, challenges, and successes with other healthcare strategy professionals, whether in the stimulating concurrent sessions, one on one, at the general sessions, or at our second annual Senior Healthcare Executive Symposium.

Connect personally in an environment that encourages social interaction as much as education. Take advantage of the many opportunities the Annual Conference offers for you to relax, network, and have some good old-fashioned fun in San Francisco. Reunite with old friends, strike up relationships with new colleagues, and network with the foremost thought leaders in the field at the exciting events we have planned for you every day.

Connect on a business level, as you walk through the Exhibit Hall and experience an array of products and services to make your organization more successful.

Connect emotionally, as you leave with renewed drive and enthusiasm for your profession, your job, and your life.

So take the first step toward getting connected, and make plans now to join us in San Francisco, September 17-20. See why the SHSMD Annual Conference is the place to CONNECT with healthcare strategy leaders from across the country—and the best meeting value you’ll find all year!

Making the Connection

• Connect before the meeting. As a registered attendee, you’ll get an electronic attendance list before you arrive in San Francisco. It will help you network with friends and identify colleagues you would like to meet.
• Connect at the meeting at the new Speed Networking session.
• Connect with peers from the same region. Attend the Regional Networking Reception on Wednesday, September 17, for a meet-and-greet with SHSMD leaders and attendees from your area.
• Connect with problem solvers in the popular Hit Us With Your Best Shot sessions for each major discipline. On Friday, September 19, you’ll have an opportunity to ask healthcare experts specific questions about your biggest challenges and obstacles. Leading authorities in communications and public relations, marketing, and strategic planning take time to help you personally.
• Connect after the meeting. Find out how you can connect with other members all year long through SHSMD’s Knowledge Community. Special sessions during the meeting will help you sign up and get active in this new online forum.

Why Should You Attend?

Being pressed for time is a chronic condition of your job as a healthcare executive. Maybe you think you can’t afford to spend three days out of the office. Think again. At the SHSMD Annual Conference, you will:

• Network with your peers and leaders from all segments of healthcare.
• Share your ideas and visions at interactive workshops and round-tables.
• Learn from leaders in the field. Sixty-six concurrent sessions in eight interdisciplinary tracks give you invaluable access to the most distinguished faculty in healthcare strategy today.
• Explore new and innovative solutions at the general sessions, with speakers and topics to intrigue, inspire, and entertain you.
• Delve into healthcare’s hottest topics at any one of the 12 optional workshops designed for in-depth learning.
• Exchange ideas online in e-mail discussions with conference speakers before the conference. Tell them in advance what you need to know!
• Evaluate the latest products, programs, and services in the largest Exhibit Hall dedicated to healthcare marketing, communications, and planning.

If you want to confirm that your time will be well spent, ask a colleague who has attended the meeting for an objective evaluation. Thousands of healthcare professionals across the country agree that the SHSMD Annual Conference is the best value for your educational dollar and a most worthwhile use of your time.

Customize Your Learning Experience

SHSMD’s Annual Conference educational programming has been organized into seven tracks to help make your conference experience as meaningful as possible. Sessions in each track have been developed to cover core content areas, so you can create your own customized curriculum that fits your educational needs, whether you are looking to develop new skills, enhance your existing knowledge, or just want a career boost.