Maternal Child Health Summit

The 3rd Annual Nebraska Maternal Child Health Summit will be held November 19, 2026 at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln. The Summit brings together partners from across Nebraska who influence maternal and child health outcomes. This year’s Summit will address timely issues including, the Rural Health Transformation Program implementation; changes to Medicaid; maternal and partner mental health; shared maternity care; social needs and economic realities of young parents; and challenges related to childcare. Continuing Education Credits will not be offered at the Summit. The Summit is in-person only, no online option is available.

The Summit is hosted by Partnership for a Healthy Nebraska in collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, Creighton University Institute for Population Health, First Five Nebraska, Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative and Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services.

Registration is OPEN. Cost is $25/person if registered by October 14th. On October 15th, registration will be $35/person. Scholarships are available. Registration closes November 16th. Registration covers admission, light breakfast, lunch, snack and parking. For questions, contact Kaitlyn Sullivan at ksullivan@healthylincoln.org.

During registration, you will be asked to indicate the breakouts you are most interested in attending. These selections will help us anticipate attendance and determine the most appropriate room assignments for each breakout. If you later decide that you would prefer to attend a different breakout session than the one you selected during registration, we will be happy to accommodate that change, space permitting.

Continuing Education Credits will not be offered for the Summit. There is not an online option for the Summit.

For a more detailed agenda, visit the MCH Summit Website.

8:00-8:30am
Check In & Light Breakfast

8:30-8:45am
Welcome & Intro – Bob Rauner, MD, MPH

8:45-10:00am
Opening Session: Panel Discussion of Health Depts & CHW Programs
- Angela Johnson, MSW, Children & Family Wellness Manager, Public Health Solutions
- Dez Brandt, Deputy Director of Maternal & Family Health Services, Panhandle Public Health District
- Maria Cantu Hines, MD, MPH, Community Health Worker Program Manager, Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department

10:15-11:30am
Morning Breakout Sessions:
- Maternal Mental Health in Nebraska
- Shared Maternity Care
- Social Needs & Economic Realities of Parents/Challenges of Childcare

11:30am-12:00pm
Lunch Buffet

12:00-1:15pm
Lunch & Policy Speaker on Medicaid Changes
Kevin Bagley, DHA
Healthy Together, Senior Medicaid Advisor
Former Nebraska Medicaid Director

1:30-2:45pm
Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
- Rural Health Transformation Program Implementation
- Maternal and Child Health Data: From Measurement to Action
- Empowering Partners in the Perinatal Period

3:00-4:15pm
Keynote Speaker: Alex Kemper, MD, MPH
National Children’s Hospital Columbus, Ohio
Deputy Editor of Pediatrics
Read more about Dr. Kemper

4:15-4:30
Closing Remarks

Checkout the MCH Summit Website for detailed agenda, speaker and panelist bios, session slides and evaluations.

Thank you to our generous sponsors supporting Maternal Child Health in Nebraska! If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, contact Veronica Cockerill, vcockerill@healthylincoln.org.

Platinum Sponsors:
- Clarkson Institute
- Nebraska Medicine: EMRACE Maternal Health Initiative

Gold Sponsors:
- United Healthcare

Silver Sponsors:
- Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative
- UNMC College of Public Health

Bronze Sponsors:
- Bryan Health
- Nebraska Total Care

The Summit is intended for health care and public health professionals; community-based organizations; home visiting and family support programs; behavioral health and social service providers; early childhood professionals; local and state agencies; hospitals and health systems; researchers and students; community leaders and advocates; and families and individuals with lived experience.

Alex R. Kemper, MD, MPH, MS
Dr. Kemper is the Division Chief of Primary Care Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Editor in Chief of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is also part of the team that helped start the Pediatric Vital Signs initiative in Columbus, Ohio that has expanded from the community’s successful effort to reduce infant mortality to focusing on measures of child flourishing including increases in kindergarten readiness and high school graduation rates. Read more about Dr. Kemper

The Summit will host a diaper drive for the Junior League of Lincoln's Diaper Bank. The Junior League of Lincoln partners with Lincoln Littles to provide diapers to over 20 Lancaster County childcare facilities, which serve over 6,000 children with diaper needs per year. Summit participants are encouraged to bring a pack of diapers of any size to the Summit for donation to the Junior League of Lincoln.

Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center
2021 Innovation Drive
Lincoln, NE 68508

Parking will be located just North of the Conference Center. Participants must download the Passport Parking App HERE to their phone and add a form of payment (even though you will NOT be charged). The code for FREE parking will be emailed to registered participants before the Summit and can be entered in the app when parking. If you do not receive a code, please email Kaitlyn Sullivan at ksullivan@healthylincoln.org.

Note: Your card may receive a temporary authorization hold, which typically drops off within 2–3 days. For additional parking information, please visit: https://innovate.unl.edu/parking-nic/

The menu has been planned with dietary accommodations in mind, and the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center is ADA accessible. If you require specific accessibility accommodations, please contact Kaitlyn Sullivan at ksullivan@healthylincoln.org.