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ForwardCommunity Health Center Association of Connecticut 2026 Annual Conference (November 12-13, 2026)
Program Information
The Community Health Center Association of Connecticut (CHC/ACT) Annual Conference is our flagship event, bringing together leaders, providers, and professionals from Community Health Centers across Connecticut and Rhode Island. Over two days, attendees will engage in learning, networking, and collaboration designed to spark new ideas and strengthen the community health movement.
Conference Highlights
- Dynamic Keynote Speakers who will inspire with stories of leadership, innovation, and resilience.
- Breakout Sessions covering topics such as clinical quality improvement, workforce development, operations, finance, and governance.
- Panel Discussions featuring leaders from health centers and community partners addressing emerging issues and best practices.
- Networking Opportunities with health center leaders, board members, state and regional stakeholders, and national experts.
- Exhibit Hall showcasing products, services, and resources that support health center operations and patient care.
For a full agenda: Conference | CHC/ACT
This activity meets on Thursday, November 12, 2026 and Friday, November 13, 2026.
Target Audience
This activity is appropriate for the following audiences:
- Nurses
- Nurse Practitioners
- Physicians
- Physician Associates/Assistants
- Social Workers
- Pharmacists
- Dentists
- Registered Dietitians
- Other behavioral health providers
- Other members of the care team
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to do the following:
- Apply evidence-based strategies to improve the management of chronic diseases among community health center patients.
- Integrate behavioral health services into primary care workflows to support whole-person care.
- Implement screening for social determinants of health and connect patients to appropriate community resources.
- Use clinical and operational data to identify, plan, and evaluate quality improvement initiatives.
- Describe recent policy, reimbursement, and workforce changes affecting community health centers and their impact on practice.
- Identify strategies to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes for underserved populations.
AMA Designation Statement
Moses/Weitzman Health System Inc. designates this Live activity for a maximum of 7.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Activity summary
- 7.25 AAPA Category I CMEThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide American Academy of PAs (AAPA) credit to physician assistants at its activities. Participants should only claim commensurate credit with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- 7.25 ACE/ASWBThrough Joint Accreditation Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) credit to social workers at its activities.
- 7.25 ACPEThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) credit to pharmacists at its activities.
- 7.25 ADA CERPThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the provider or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at ADA.org/CERP.
- 7.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™Through Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ to physicians at its activities via Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
- 7.25 ANCCThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) nursing credit to nurses at its activities.
- 7.25 CDRThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide CDR credits to registered dieticians at its activities.
- 7.25 Participation Hour(s)You are able to download an unaccredited Participation Certificate for your records if you are not able to use any of the credit types provided for this activity or if this activity does not offer accredited CME/CE credits.
Schedule
The following sessions have been approved for credits:
Breakout Round 1 (Thursday, 11/12/2026; 11:00 AM-12:15 PM)
- Gaps Related to Reliance on Total Scores Versus Item-Level Interpretation of PHQ-9 (A) Scores in Screening for Depression in Adolescents - Ramindra Walia, Divesh Walia, V. Suhana Sharma, Nimesh Mehta
- Health Center Best Practices Panel – Voices from the Field - Catherine Gilpin
- Preparing for the Longevity Age: Optimizing FQHC Medicare Reimbursement - Nathan Smith, Ben Leroi, Athena Dellas
- Managing to Lead: Elevating Nurse Managers into Visionary Clinical Leaders - Andrea Murrell
Breakout Round 2 (Thursday, 11/12/2026; 1:45-3:00 PM)
- Honoring the Health Center Mission, Building Our Future: Smarter Patient Outreach and Workflow Design - Alison Williams
- FQHCs on the Offense: Using Data to Drive Operational Resilience and Protect Revenue - Dolores Di Re, Allison Kean
- AI in Healthcare: What Patients Really Think - Mark Robledo, Eric Vaught
- The Missing Middle: How to Address Manager Skill Gaps and Change Everything - Kimberly Chen, Deanna Drake
Breakout Round 3 (Thursday, 11/12/2026; 3:30-4:45 PM)
- Cybersecurity on a Budget: A Practical Playbook for FQHCs - Adam Kehler, Gabby Rodriguez
- Designing with, Not For: Co-Creating a Career Navigation System with Frontline Staff - Bill Crocker, Leah Fuhs
Navigating AI Tools & Wearables in the Clinical Setting (Thursday, 11/12/2026; 4:45-5:45 PM OR Friday, 11/13/2026; 7:00-8:00 AM)
Breakout Round 4 (Friday, 11/13/2026; 9:45-11:00 AM)
- Non-traditional health center sites - a lived experience - Markes Wilson, Joanne Borduas, Suzanne Lagarde
- Lessons Learned from the Field – Case Scenarios with a Financial and Revenue Cycle Focus - Rebekah Wallace Pardeck, Catherine Gilpin
- From Reactive to Strategic: Modernizing Health Center Technology for the Future - Chris Grasso
- Productivity-Based Compensation Model: How one health center stopped paying providers a base salary - Shelley Spires
Breakout Round 5 (Friday, 11/13/2026; 11:30 AM-12:45 PM)
- Bridging the Gap: A Collaborative Medical-Behavioral Health Workflow for Real-Time Safety Assessments - Corinne Seville, Christine Chen, Julie Ryder
- HRSA Grant Management: Integrating Financial Stewardship and Operational Efficiency - Rebecca Stauffer, Janet Salazar
- The Stability Shift: What Today’s Workforce Wants Most - Vlad Gogish
Weitzman Institute Disclosure Statement
It is the policy of the Weitzman Institute to ensure that Continuing Education (CE) activities are independent and free of commercial bias. To ensure educational content is objective, balanced, and guarantee content presented is in the best interest of its learners' and the public, the Weitzman Institute requires that everyone in a position to control educational content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. An ineligible company is one whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Examples can be found at accme.org.
Faculty participating in a Weitzman Institute-sponsored activity must disclose to the planning committee and audience all financial or other relationship(s) with ineligible companies.
Dr. Karen Ashley is the Director of Education for the Weitzman Institute. She oversees all educational programming accredited by the Moses/Weitzman Health System.
Planners & Presenters
- Adam Kehler, Director of Cybersecurity Services - CGI
- Alison Williams, Solution Consultant - Vital Interaction
- Allison Kean, COO - Relevant
- Andrea Murrell, Director of Nursing - Cornell Scott Hill Health Center
- Athena Dellas, CFO - Wheeler Clinic, Inc.
- Ben Leroi, Senior Manager - Wipfli
- Bill Crocker, Director of Talent Development and Learning - Fair Haven Community Health Care
- Catherine Gilpin, Partner - Forvis Mazars
- Chris Grasso, Co-Founder - FastX
- Christine Chen, Director of Adult Medicine/Internal Medicine - Cornell Scott Hill Health Center
- Corinne Seville, Program Director, Adult Outpatient Behavioral Health - Cornell Scott Hill Health Center
- Deanna Drake, Director - Facktor Health
- Divesh Walia, UCFS Intern - Norwich Free Academy
- Dolores Di Re, Director - CohnReznick
- Ellen Ross, Director of Population Health - UCFS Healthcare
- Eric Vaught, Chief Medical Officer - Community Health Center, Inc.
- Gabby Rodriguez, Consultant - CGI
- Janet Salazar, Senior Manager - CohnReznick
- Julie Ryder, Program Director, Adult Outpatient Behavioral Health - Cornell Scott Hill Health Center
- Kimberly Chen, Director - Facktor Health
- Leah Fuhs, Partner - United Way
- Mark Robledo, Chief Executive Officer - The Cross Roads Group
- Markes Wilson, Consulting Senior Manager - BerryDunn
- Nathan Smith, Manager, Healthcare Consulting - Wipfli
- Nimesh Mehta, UCFS Intern - Plainview JFK High School
- Ramindra Walia, Chief Medical Officer - UCFS Healthcare
- Rebecca Stauffer, Senior Manager - CohnReznick
- Rebekah Wallace Pardeck, President - Achieve Revenue
- Shelly Spires, CEO - Albany Area Primary Health Care
- V. Suhana Sharma, UCFS Intern - Cornell University
- Wes Ernst, Partner - Forvis Mazars
- Yvette Schmitter, Co-Founder/CEO - Fusion Collective
- Stacey Kamienski, Sr Manager, Operations, Grants & Contracts - Community Health Center Association of Connecticut
- Leah Lucarelli, COO, DNP, APRN, FNP-C - Community Health Center Association of Connecticut
- Laura LaCombe, VP Finance - Community Health & Wellness of Greater Torrington
- Ann Iannantuoni, Sr Director Quality & Risk Management - Community Health & Wellness of Greater Torrington
- Katie Curran, CEO - Connecticut Institute for Communities
- Denise Kentala, Clinical Systems Manager - Connecticut Institute for Communities
- Elizabeth Martucci, CFO - Connecticut Institute for Communities
- Jennifer Cohen, CMO, MD - Connecticut Institute for Communities
There were no relevant financial relationship disclosures made by any presenters or planners for this conference.
Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Community Health Center Association of Connecticut and Moses/Weitzman Health System, Inc./Weitzman Institute. Moses/Weitzman Health System, Inc. is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credential Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
By completing this activity, you provide Moses/Weitzman Health System Inc. the permission to share completion data with the ACCME and the certifying board(s).
Please note that continuing education credit requirements differ by state, jurisdiction, and licensing agency. It is your responsibility to confirm if your licensing/credentialing agency will accept the credits offered by this activity.
Available Credit
- 7.25 AAPA Category I CMEThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide American Academy of PAs (AAPA) credit to physician assistants at its activities. Participants should only claim commensurate credit with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- 7.25 ACE/ASWBThrough Joint Accreditation Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) credit to social workers at its activities.
- 7.25 ACPEThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) credit to pharmacists at its activities.
- 7.25 ADA CERPThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the provider or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at ADA.org/CERP.
- 7.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™Through Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ to physicians at its activities via Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
- 7.25 ANCCThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) nursing credit to nurses at its activities.
- 7.25 CDRThrough Joint Accreditation, Moses/Weitzman Health Center, Inc./Weitzman Institute is able to provide CDR credits to registered dieticians at its activities.
- 7.25 Participation Hour(s)You are able to download an unaccredited Participation Certificate for your records if you are not able to use any of the credit types provided for this activity or if this activity does not offer accredited CME/CE credits.
How to Register
- Create an account with the Weitzman Education Platform if you haven't already. Reference How do I create an account? if needed.
- Select the Continue button, then proceed to the Conference Evaluation.
- Once you have completed the conference evaluation:
- You can claim credit commensurate with your attendance.
- You will then be able to download a certificate appropriate to your credentials.
For a visual guide: How do I register, complete the session evaluations, and claim credits for a conference?
You must claim credit and download your certificate by the activity expiration date. For compliance reasons, the Weitzman Institute cannot modify this deadline. If you need any technical support, submit a ticket to our Support Center.