Last week, HLN attended the Phi*Con and NACCHO360 conference in Louisville, KY, together with 2100 public health professionals, primarily from county and city health departments
Phi*Con, with 200+ attendees, was a great start to the conference with a focus on public health informatics. We presented an on-demand session about the use of Maturity Models for Data Modernization and we had a (very) early morning presentation with our client from Sedgewick County, KS that was widely attended, perhaps due to its captivating title:“The Stars Aligned: A Medium-sized Local Health Department’s Lighted Path to eCR (Electronic Case Reporting) and a Vaccine Inventory System” (Recording). Christine Steward, deputy health director at the Sedgwick County Health Department and Aasa Dahlberg Schmit from HLN, provided an in-depth view of a year-long project (2024-25) to improve interoperability across internal software systems, as well as with an external partner using Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). Chris spoke to her motivation for doing the project that included how Sedgwick County, like other health departments, is too adaptable. They undertake projects without requesting additional resources. Chris routinely hears County staff comment, “It’s ok, I 
can enter this data into an additional system,” “I can create and send this email with information from our system,” or “I can re-enter this data we received on a fax; it will only take me a few minutes.” But for the bigger picture, this is not ok. As we all know, those “few minutes” add up to a significant amount of staff time. According to Chris, her biggest motivating factor for initiating the project was to send the message that it is not ok; we can do better, we can work smarter, and provide or utilize the technology that clients expect. We can embrace efficiency, be more strategic, and do more for our communities!
During Phi*Con we saw numerous public health agencies present examples like Sedgwick County and reiterate the message that “It is not ok!” Grant funding over the past few years has enabled significant improvements to public health data systems and how data is being used. We saw examples of public health dashboards and information systems being modernized that dramatically increased visibility and use of the data. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) track at NACCHO360 provided insights on how public health agencies are using AI for improving staff efficiency, as well as how they are establishing AI governance and adopting best practices for AI use.
To top off the whole conference, Louisville was a hospitable location with a great food scene, incredible (bourbon!?) drinks and friendly residents making us look forward to being back in May 2027 for the AIRA National Meeting.
Our experience as exhibitors, speakers and attendees was an illuminating and motivational experience. It really brought home the adage: “Think globally, act locally.” Connecting with so many passionate professionals who stopped by our HLN booth highlighted how integral City and County Health departments are in making our public health community so much stronger and more resilient! We look forward to continuing the conversation!