HIMSS MI Chapter 2026 Fall Conference: Crossing the Bridge

Crossing the Bridge – Connecting Michigan’s Care
Join health IT leaders and statewide partners for the 2026 MI HIMSS Fall Conference
About this Event

Crossing the Bridge – Connecting Michigan’s Care
The 2026 HIMSS Michigan Fall Conference brings together Michigan’s health IT, clinical, research, and public‑sector communities for two days of learning, collaboration, and statewide impact. This year’s theme focuses on the bridges we are building to advance connected, equitable, and innovative care for all of Michigan.

Join leaders from health systems, public health, academia, payer organizations, and industry as we explore the future of interoperability, AI innovation, cybersecurity, virtual care and the rural health transformation reshaping care delivery across the state.

What to Expect

• Keynote and Featured Speakers from Michigan and across the country
• Emerging Leaders Track designed for students and early‑career professionals
• Hands‑on sessions, panels, and workshops on the most pressing issues in health IT
• Statewide collaboration with MiHIN, health systems, universities, and industry partners
• Networking opportunities with peers, executives, and innovators shaping Michigan’s digital health future

HOTEL INFORMATION

HIMSS Michigan 2026 Fall Conference has a block of rooms at the group discount rate of $149.00 per night at DoubleTree by Hilton Lansing, conveniently connected to the Lansing Center, available September 13th - 15th.

To make a room reservation please click on

To make a room reservation by phone call 517-482-0188, and reservations can assist with securing rooms. It is important that each of your guests identify themselves as part of the MI HIMSS 2026 Fall Conference group and provide reservations under the code “905” to receive the discounted group rate.

Please ensure your reservations are made before the cutoff date of 08/30/2026.

• Onsite parking at the DoubleTree is $15 per day

HIMSS Michigan 2026 Fall Conference also has reserved a block of rooms for Sept 13th -15th at the group discount rate of $145.00 per night at the Courtyard by Marriott Lansing, a 5-minute walk from the Lansing Center.

Courtyard by Marriott Lansing Downtown for 145.00 USD per night

Last Day to Book : Sunday, August 30, 2026:

• Onsite parking at the Courtyard is complimentary for guests.

September 14th

🕑: 08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Check-In, Light Breakfast, and Networking

Info: Start the day by checking in, enjoying a light breakfast, and networking with fellow attendees. Walk-in registration will also be available during this time. Check-In opens at 8:00 AM.

🕑: 09:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Hawk Hollow Golf Outing (Optional Add On)
Host: Hawk Hollow

Info: Start the event right with a round of 9 holes at Hawk Hollow, a short drive from the Lansing Center. Teams will be matched up with a mix of attendees, speakers, board members and sponsors. Tee times will be set between 8:00 - 9:00am. Coffee and beverages included.

🕑: 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Morning Anchor: Social Care Sustainability Summit
Host: CHRT

Info: The Summit will bring together leaders across healthcare, community organizations, philanthropy, government, and technology to explore how the partnerships, workforce, technology, and shared infrastructure that support whole-person care can be sustained over time.

As investments in health and social care integration continue to grow, including through Michigan's Rural Health Transformation Program, communities have an opportunity to shape what comes next. As time-limited funding begins to expire, important questions remain about what creates value, how it should be measured, and who should share responsibility for sustaining this work. This summit will provide a collaborative forum to begin building a shared framework for long-term sustainability.

Please note: Technology vendors are participating by invitation to help ensure balanced representation across sectors.

🕑: 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Lunch and Networking (Pre-Conference Attendees)

Info: Enjoy a networking lunch with fellow pre-conference participants. This is a great opportunity to continue conversations from the morning sessions, connect with colleagues, and prepare for the afternoon programs.

🕑: 01:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Track 1: Public Policy - Health Policy and Advocacy in Action

Info: Hear about critical national and state issues from leading health policy and advocacy experts from HIMSS Government Relations, Michigan Health and Hospitals Association (MHA), Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS), Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN), University of Michigan School of Public Health & Bi-Partisan Policy Center, and the State of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Get a high level view of key federal / state / congressional / agency activities, major legislative & regulatory impacts to expect in 2026-2027, and emerging issues to track.
Learn how to participate in health policy formation and how to advocate for those policies, pending legislation and regulation from experts in the field and from former legislators and agency heads. Top off the afternoon with an update from public health leadership for the Public Health Administration's data modernization efforts. Bring your ideas and questions for a robust discussion.

🕑: 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
Track 2: Crossing the Bridge: Pathways for Emerging Leaders
Host: Mara Daiker

Info: This session explores the pathways through which emerging leaders can enter, advance, and meaningfully contribute to Michigan’s evolving health information and technology ecosystem. Panelists representing hospitals, public health, academia, and digital health innovation will discuss the competencies, experiences, and leadership behaviors that prepare early‑career professionals to support statewide priorities in interoperability, data modernization, and coordinated care.

🕑: 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Emerging Leaders: Health Data Skills with Databricks Fundamentals
Host: Jeff Babe

Info: Elevate your technical skills and add an industry certificate to your resume with this one-hour interactive workshop. Using 4 short videos and a 15-minute quiz, participants will gain practical knowledge of how data intelligence platforms bring together the benefits of data lakehouses and AI
Recognize how Databricks fits within a healthcare IT cloud data ecosystem
Use a unified security and governance model to protect all your data and AI assets

🕑: 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Emerging Leaders: Measuring What Matters - Making Healthcare Data Actionable

Info: Explore how healthcare organizations use data to understand impact, improve programs, and make better decisions. Participants will learn how data analytics and program evaluation turn information into actionable insights and explore how these skills are applied across a range of healthcare roles and careers.

🕑: 03:40 PM - 04:30 PM
Emerging Leaders: Interview Coaching and Resume Reviews
Host: Joseph Brown

Info: Sharpen your interview skills and polish up your resume with a team of industry leaders.

🕑: 05:30 PM - 07:30 PM
Michigan HIMSS 2026: Welcome Reception
Host: HIMSS Michigan Chapter

Info: Join your friends, colleagues and industry partners for a social hour with select beverages and food provided by the HIMSS Michigan chapter and our sponsors.

🕑: 05:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Welcome Keynote: Second Annual Michigan Patient Satisfaction Survey
Host: Tim Busche, CEO Envision Health

Info: Panel Summary

Title: Second Annual Patient Satisfaction Survey: What Michigan Clinicians Really Think!

Format: Panel presentation facilitated by Envision Health
Date: Monday, September 14, 2026 | 5pm – 6:30pm

Content & Benefits:

MyPatientFirst has commissioned its second annual survey to gain data and insights from Michigan care delivery organizations. Envision Health has also conducted extensive secondary research regarding the impact of patient satisfaction on regulatory compliance and shared savings initiatives, as well as the potential benefits to care delivery organizations. Panel attendees will gain insights and inspiration directly from the objective 3rd party research and analysis.

Tim J. Busche, MBA – Co-Founder and CEO of Envision Health
Ewa Matuszewski – Former CEO of Medical Network One, a leading physician services organization

September 15th

🕑: 07:00 AM - 07:55 AM
Networking: Light breakfast and coffee service
Host: Sponsorship Available
🕑: 08:00 AM - 08:25 AM
Welcome from the State of Michigan
Host: Ninah Sasy

Info: Hear a welcome message from Ninah Sasy, Policy and Planning Bureau Director for MDHHS, as we kick off the HIMSS Michigan Fall Conference.

🕑: 08:30 AM - 09:10 AM
Morning Keynote: To Err is Agentic
Host: Lukasz Kowalczyk, MD

Info: Title: To Err is Agentic. Healthcare does not need to relearn 27 years of patient-safety lessons for AI. Hear from national HIMSS AI leader and Executive Medical Director for Provation, Dr. Lukasz Kowalczyk will be sharing a practical executive framework for moving from agent capability to operational trust. We already know how to manage high-risk systems - Now Apply it to Agents
✓Design the workflow before choosing the model
✓Build the system, not just the prompt
✓Let physicians define what “good” looks like
✓Measure every action
✓Learn from every error

🕑: 09:15 AM - 10:00 AM
Panel Discussion: Responsible AI in Healthcare
Host: Mitch Anderson, Assort Health

Info: Hear from AI industry experts in healthcare leading the transformation of clinical delivery and outcomes through automation, smarter health data, and improving the resiliency and security of our health information networks. The session will focus on: ​​Agentic AI workflows and how they’re emerging in clinical, operational, and administrative settings. Governance models that support safe, responsible, and scalable AI adoption. Real‑world examples — what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re learning as organizations move from pilots to production. Featuring speakers from: Poly AI, White Knight Labs, Michigan Medicine, and joined by HIMSS national director, Digital Health Strategy, Alexandra Wright.

🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Chapter Advocacy & Tribal Health Update
Host: Krystal Schramm

Info: Hear an update with Krystal Schramm, MSA, MS, Michigan HIMSS Tribal Liaison, HIMSS National Vice Chair Native American & Indigenous Community, Michigan HIMSS Co-Chair Advocacy and Public Policy

🕑: 10:15 AM - 10:35 AM
Mid-Morning Break: Refreshments and Coffee
🕑: 10:40 AM - 11:15 AM
From 83 Counties to One Learning System for Michigan Healthcare
Host: James Morris, CEO HealthFocus

Info: Sponsor session with HealthFocus: From 83 Counties to One Learning System: What Would It Take for Michigan to Learn From Every Patient? Michigan has made significant investments in connecting healthcare data. The next opportunity is to use that foundation not only to identify risk, but to continuously learn what works, for whom, and under what circumstances.
Using hypertension and diabetes as examples, this session explores a learning health system: identify a population, intervene, measure results, learn from variation, and refine the approach. Which interventions improved outcomes? How did results differ across communities? How can those lessons inform what happens next? Rather than asking every organization or community to solve the same challenges independently, Michigan has an opportunity to make improvement itself more scalable.

🕑: 10:40 AM - 11:15 AM
Breakout Session: The Bedside-First Blueprint for Enterprise Clinical Mobility
Host: Strategic Mobility Group

Info: Join Chris Talbot from Strategic Mobility Group for this sponsor breakout session.
The core idea: Hospitals aren't short on innovation. They're short on a reliable way to get that intelligence to the point of care. I call this the execution layer, the point where information, people, devices, and ownership have to converge in real time, on the floor, under normal conditions. That's the piece that determines whether any of this actually scales.

🕑: 10:40 AM - 11:15 AM
Breakout Session: Securing AI Agents and Data within Healthcare
Host: Exabeam

Info: Join Ryan Burke from Exabeam for this sponsor breakout session: Securing AI Agents and Data within Healthcare

🕑: 11:20 AM - 12:00 PM
Connected for Michigan: A Strategic Update from Dr. Isabell Pacheco
Host: Isabell Pacheco, DSc, FACHE

Info: Connected for Michigan: A Strategic Update from Dr. Isabell Pacheco, CEO of MiHIN, on Health Data Utility, Trust, and Statewide Interoperability. Michigan’s health information ecosystem is evolving rapidly, shaped by national interoperability frameworks, state priorities, rural health transformation, public health modernization, and the growing need for trusted, community-governed data infrastructure. This session will provide an update on MiHIN’s current work and strategic direction, including how Michigan’s state-designated health information exchange is strengthening statewide connectivity, supporting public and population health needs, and preparing for the next chapter of health data utility.
Attendees will hear how MiHIN is working to modernize infrastructure, improve customer-focused services, support emerging use cases, and align with broader efforts to make health information more usable, timely, and actionable across care settings.

🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:40 PM
Networking Lunch

Info: Enjoy a full lunch buffet (with options for vegan and gluten free choices). The HIMSS Michigan chapter will share some awards and recognition during the lunch.

🕑: 12:50 PM - 01:30 PM
Keynote: Digital Acceleration in Healthcare Research - Henry Ford Health
Host: David Lanfear, MD

Info: Afternoon keynote with Dr. David Lanfear, Chief Science Officer and VP, Research at Henry Ford Health, a dynamic look at how Henry Ford Health is reshaping the future of clinical research through modern data platforms, AI‑driven discovery, and next‑generation digital tools. Attendees will gain a clear view into Henry Ford’s digital research strategy, real examples of innovation in action, and the emerging technologies transforming how health systems generate evidence and advance care.

🕑: 01:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Panel Discussion: Using Virtual Care to Bridge Gaps in Rural Health Care
Host: Scott Wilson

Info: Join us to learn how leading Health Systems, Physician Service Organization and Correctional Care are using virtual care to meet growing needs in Rural Health Care. Organizations featured will include: McLaren Health Care, Indiana University Health, ViaPath Technologies, Adjacent Health and BluAI.

🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:15 PM
Coffee Break & Networking - Expo Hall
Host: Assort Health
🕑: 02:20 PM - 03:50 PM
HIT Commission Roundtable
Host: Michael Zaroukian, MD, PHD, MACP, FHIMSS, FAMIA

Info: Join Health IT Commissioners for an interactive session exploring Michigan's evolving health information exchange ecosystem, including what is working well, current challenges and opportunities, and priorities for the future. The session will include discussions on topics including long-term HIE sustainability, emerging interoperability needs, and the strategic role of the HIT Commission. Attendees will also have opportunities to share perspectives through live polling and Q&A.

🕑: 03:50 PM - 04:00 PM
Closing Remarks
Host: HIMSS MI Chapter President