Ultimate Medical Academy Brings Together Healthcare and Education Leaders for Inaugural Event on Friday, Sept. 21 in Tampa, Florida

TAMPA, Fla. September 17, 2018 – Three dynamic, healthcare industry-leading experts will keynote Ultimate Medical Academy’s inaugural 360 Summit: Perspectives on Healthcare Innovation from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21 at the Tampa Airport Marriott, 4200 George J. Bean Parkway.

UMA, a nonprofit healthcare educational institution, designed the 360 Summit to bring together healthcare providers and educators to encourage collaborative problem-solving by highlighting workforce diversity, innovative design, transformative technology, disruptive solutions, and creative alternatives to traditional healthcare offerings.

The keynote speakers and their topics at the 360 Summit are:

• John D. Couris, president and CEO at Tampa General Hospital and a nationally recognized healthcare leader. He will speak on Collaboration, Innovation and Vision: Disrupting the status quo to deliver world-class care. Couris leads TGH, which has been named one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals in six specialties and is the Tampa Bay area’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, one of three verified burn centers in Florida, one of the top transplant centers in the U.S., and the primary teaching hospital for the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.
• Dr. J. Andrew Chacko, attending psychiatrist for the Veterans Administration’s outpatient clinic in San Bruno, California and a leader in healthcare innovation. He will speak on Transforming Healthcare Through Innovation and Design. Chacko uses his medical experience to teach others how to become design thinkers and is passionate about transforming healthcare into the vital, rewarding and life-changing practice that it can be for patient, provider, and support professionals alike.
• Kathy B. Dempsey, author of Shed or You’re Dead, which won the Writer’s Digest International Book Award. She will speak on Shed or You’re Dead®: How to Stay Alive & Thrive in the Midst of Healthcare Change. Dempsey is a motivator who has earned the designation of Certified Speaking Professional. She will help participants increase their effectiveness by 75 percent by helping them learn how to remove the biggest obstacles to a successful and sustainable change.

A panel discussion moderated by UMA Executive Chair Jane Swift will highlight perspectives on the education-healthcare pipeline. The panel will feature local healthcare professionals, economic officials, and community leaders. Insight will also be shared by UMA Clearwater Campus Director Dr. Rebecca Sarlo and Adrianne Tolin, a UMA student in the Medical Assistant program at the Clearwater Campus who is completing her externship requirements at Gulf Coast Medical and Geriatric Care in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“The healthcare system is constantly changing,” Swift noted. “We need transformative technology, disruptive solutions, and creative alternatives to enhance patient care and improve outcomes.”

Almost 300 healthcare and education leaders and practitioners have registered to attend the 360 Summit to participate in the general and breakout sessions on expanding access, managing costs, and improving quality of care and patient outcomes in the face of an aging population and critical staffing shortages.

Breakout session speakers, include Daron Diecidue, MD, CEO, Fast Track Urgent Care, the largest physician-owned urgent care organization in Florida, and Lisa McElhaney, National President, National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), a nonprofit that facilitates cooperation between law enforcement, healthcare professionals, state regulatory agencies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers in the investigation and prevention of prescription drug abuse and diversion.

“The 360 Summit on Healthcare Innovation builds on the success of the inaugural 2017 K-20 Education Summit,” UMA Executive Vice President Geordie Hyland said. “Bringing together leaders in healthcare and education makes us a stronger institution. We are committed to immersing ourselves in the issues facing healthcare and helping to educate the next generation of healthcare workers at UMA’s Online and Clearwater campuses as well as the healthcare professionals we serve through our continuing medical education division.”

The 360 Summit is being held in conjunction with UMA’s Advisory Board meetings on Thursday, Sept. 20 and UMA’s Fall Commencement on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, at the Yuengling Center, formerly the USF Sun Dome, at the University of South Florida.

For more information about and a full list of speakers at the 360 Summit, please visit www.ultimatemedical.edu/360summit.