Health Connect South Driving Groundbreaking Health Collaboration at Inaugural Event

ATLANTA, Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Health Connect South, a new Atlanta-based organization, is promoting greater collaboration between health silos in Georgia and the Southeast with the goal of fostering future innovation, discovery and improved healthcare. This vision will come to life at Health Connect South's inaugural event on Sept. 15 at the Woodruff Arts Center, at which 500-700 top doctors, students, executives and entrepreneurs are expected to attend.

Founded by CEO Russ Lipari in 2013, HCS is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that will bring together some of the nation's most influential leaders in health and enterprise to share ideas, resources and practices under the banner of mutually beneficial collaboration. Lipari envisions HCS as an emblematic launch pad for innovation and discovery fueled by open communication among the industry's top decision-makers.

"It's no secret that we as Atlantans are privileged to live in a city where such a vast array of health assets reside" said Lipari. "However, there is surprisingly little interdisciplinary clarity around areas of focus, impact, needs and capacity among them. This is a problem HCS aims to solve."

In order to strengthen and shape Atlanta's health landscape, HCS will facilitate conversations by highlighting the city's health assets while underlining the potential of open collaboration between such a rich makeup of organizations and institutions. These collaborations have the potential to drive improved care, access, and costs in Atlanta while making the city a global hub for health innovation. This exciting prospect means more jobs, companies, and other economic benefits for the area.

"Fostering collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem is critical to growing jobs in metro Atlanta," said David Hartnett, vice president, Bioscience-Health IT Industry Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber. "Connecting top innovators and our community providers through Health Connect South is an important step in advancing the healthcare industry in our region."

HCS counts the likes of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, Task Force for Global Health, UPS, the Technology Association of Georgia, The Coca-Cola Company and the Carter Center as its sponsors and will feature keynote speeches and breakout sessions from the industry's top thinkers, including:

• Charlie Stokes, President of the CDC Foundation
• Dr. Dennis Liotta, Executive Director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development
• Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States
• Dr. Mark Rosenberg, President & CEO of The Task Force for Global Health
• Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society

About Health Connect South
Health Connect South was created to build a first-of-its-kind sustainable platform for regional health collaborations. We believe open communication accelerates new opportunities for geographically advantaged collaborations, unlocking and advancing important discoveries in health. To learn more about Health Connect South and how to register for the Sept. 15 event please visit www.healthconnectsouth.com.

SOURCE Health Connect South