AHIP, ACHE, AONL Cancel Conferences Amid Coronavirus Concerns
By John Commins
The American College of Healthcare Executives, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership have cancelled upcoming annual conferences this month amid concerns about the coronavirus.
The actions follow those of Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, which last week issued a last-minute cancellation of this week’s annual conference in Orlando, at which 45,000 people from across the globe were expected to attend.
ACHE’s board of governors issued a statement saying it cancelled its 2020 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, scheduled for March 23-26, 2020 in Chicago, because many of the 4,200 executives who were expected to attend “are actively managing the response to coronavirus (COVID-19) in their communities.”
“We understand and support our members and other leaders—and the need to respond effectively to patient and community concerns,” ACHE said. “The decision to cancel this event was not made lightly. Out of respect for our attendees and faculty, we wanted to announce this news as soon as the decision was made and prior to our cancellation deadline.”
AHIP’s board of directors said it cancelled its National Health Policy Conference and National Conference on the Individual and Small Group Market in Washington, D.C., scheduled for March 18-20, “to help prevent the spread of this disease, to ensure that people have coverage for and access to needed testing, and to help patients who are infected receive the care and treatment they need.”
“As our country prepares for the possibility of widespread infections and takes action to mitigate the impact, our priority is the health and well-being of the people we serve,” AHIP said in a media release. “There are three critical areas health insurance providers are proactively addressing right now: Prevention, testing, and treatment.”
As of now, AHIP’s Institute & Expo on June 17-18 in Miami remains scheduled.
AONL said it decided to cancel its 2020 Conference, scheduled for March 18-21 in Nashville, “in light of the latest COVID-19 developments and the unprecedented and still growing demand for nursing leadership at this time,” ANOL announced on its webpage. “Our nursing leaders must remain on site in their roles. We are confident this is not only in the best interest of our attendees and exhibitors but also the patients and families they serve.”
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.