Learn about our community’s role in medical tourism, one of the state’s leading industries, at the Florida Chamber Foundation’s first Medical Tourism Symposium on Thursday, Nov. 17th, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the UF Hilton Conference Room.
“Currently Florida’s medical tourism is a $6 billion industry. This is with limited state and regional focus on the field. If we aligned the medical field with businesses and government and addressed issues that could help grow this industry, the result would be increased economies and better healthcare,” said Jacob A. Wychulis, the event coordinator.
The panelists include a range of healthcare professionals, chief economists and local and state government officials, including: Dr. David Guzick, president of UF Health; Brian Cook, president of North Florida Regional Medical Center; Susan Davenport, president/CEO of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Celeste Phillip, interim Florida Surgeon General; Dr. Jerry Parrish, chief economist and researcher for the Florida Chamber Foundation; and Florida Gov. Rick Scott. The panelists will cover topics related to regional and state-level healthcare and economy, with the goal to stimulate discussion on valuable connections — existing and new.
“The discussions taking place at the symposium are to bring focus on an already existing but under developed trade. We hope that the panelist discussions will highlight developmental needs and solutions,” explained Wychulis.
Lunch will be provided for all guests and a happy hour mixer will follow the event. Get involved in this exciting initiative, have open discussions with industry leaders and learn more about why medical tourism is important on a local, state and national level. Noted Wychulis: “Through this symposium we will see the opportunity and pathway for our region to take a leading role in growing this state wide industry and we will continue state wide conversations on how we can further advance medical tourism.”