Monday, January 6, 2020
9:30 – 10:30 LITERARY PURSUITS
Promoting Children’s Literacy: An Essential
Component of Hennepin Healthcare
Speaker: Betsy Schaefer Roob, Children’s Literary Liaison
Hennepin Healthcare’s Children’s Literacy Program
connects young patients and visitors with books because
children who read lead healthier lives. Sharing books and
stories drives language development and brain growth, both
of which support success in school and in life. Roob
manages the program, which incorporates literacy
promotion into healthcare delivery in pediatrics and
beyond.

10:45 – 11:45 SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY
New and Safer Therapeutic Strategies
to Treat Chronic Pain are on the Horizon
Speaker: Carolyn Fairbanks, PhD, Professor of
Pharmaceutics and Associate Dean for Research,
College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota
With the tragic escalation in drug-related fatalities,
significant concerns have risen over the use of prescription
opioids, even when necessary and appropriate for pain
relief. Fairbanks will explain the distinct neurobiological
bases for opioid relief of pain, development of addiction,
and fatal overdose. Additionally, she will explain the
NIH HEAL (National Institutes of Health’s Helping to End
Addiction Long-term) initiative which is intended to
address the opioid epidemic through the development of
safer pain medication approaches.

11:45 – 12:00 ANNOUNCEMENTS
12:00 – 1:15 LUNCHEON

Development Committee Association Room
Public Policy Committee Fellowships Room
1:15 – 2:15 EQUITY, EQUALITY, and JUSTICE
Who is Homeless in Minnesota?
Speaker: Greg Owen, Consulting Scientist,
Wilder Research
From interviews with more than 4,000 people experiencing
homelessness in Minnesota, Owen will review trends
dating from 1991, characteristics of the population of
homeless, changes over time, challenges faced by people
trying to overcome homelessness, and potential strategies
for effective intervention. His commitment to correcting
homelessness is infectious.