#Cinderblocks4 Coming May 18-20, 2017!

#Cinderblocks4:The Walking Gallery Gathers is a patient led medical conference held in the beautiful mountains of rural Western Maryland.  This is a destination event and the spirit of the conference is Burning Man meets healthcare.

Now some of you may not know why I use the hashtag #Cinderblocks4, so I thought a refresher might be in order."When I was a child I went to an elementary school that had few resources.  In fifth grade, someone donated a large amount of books to our class.  We were very pleased to have them, but we had no bookshelves on which to place them.  My teacher contacted the local lumberyard and requested they donate some 2x4's and cinderblocks so we could make shelves.  The lumberyard manger said yes, with one caveat, we would have to pick up the supplies.

That year our fifth grade class had a field trip.  

We left the school as a class and walked to the lumberyard.  Some of us grabbed the 2x4's and some of us grabbed cinderblocks.  We walked all the way back to school and up three flights of stairs.  Then we assembled those shelves and placed the books upon them.  We stood back and looked proudly at our work.  I cannot believe there was a class anywhere else in the entire nation who cherished their bookshelves as much as we did ours.  We loved those shelves because we overcame adversity and made that which we needed.  It wasn't pretty, it wasn’t perfect, but it was ours."

So the really cool thing about this event, is that it isn't in the grand ballroom of some four-star hotel. We meet at a restaurant that was an inn on our nation's first highway.  We meet by a bridge that was built over 200 years ago, and like that bridge we are connecting people that are separated by economic class, geographic distance, and cultural divide.  

We are patient and provider as partners. 

You can become a sponsor for the event through our crowdfund here:

https://www.gofundme.com/cinderblocks4-art-and-medicine

You can register to attend here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cinderblocks4the-walking-gallery-gathers-tickets-30699789898

How will you get to Grantsville, MD?

By Car:

The location is about 1 ½ hours by car from Pittsburgh or 2 ½ hours from DC/Baltimore.

By Train:

The Amtrak train from DC has a daily stop in nearby Cumberland, which is about 20 minutes away.

Where do we stay?

Meshach Browning's Cabins on the River.  These cabins are right next to Penn Alps and come in variety of styles and sizes that allow for 2-6 guests.    

The Casselman Inn This hotel is in the heart of town and in walking distance to most of our activities.  It is a historic drover's hotel and has more space in a motel addition.   

The Comfort Inn This hotel is right off 68 and is about three minutes away from town center by car.

Please let Regina Holliday know if you would rather be placed with a local host family.  We also have a few rooms available in Salt & Pepper Studios. 

Who will be there?

We expect to see a very diverse crowd at this event. There will be people who work in the government, healthcare, crowdfunding and technology.  We expect to see patients, patient advocates, activists and caregivers.  Artists, performers and dancers will be attending as well as local individuals very interested in the intersection of art, policy and health.

Who are our Speakers?

So far we have:

Esther Fischer, Adult Protective Services Specialist, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Enid, Oklahoma
Jessica Gada, Art Therapist, Bethesda, MD
Brandon Kling, Head Cheesemaker at High Country Creamery, Grantsville, MD

Joleen Chambers, founder of Failed Implant Device Alliance, will present on Failed Medical Devices and Patient Safety, Dallas, Texas

Robb Fulks, Patient Speaker focusing on patients falling through the cracks in our current political climate, Reading, PA
Jessica Wilhelm, Field Representative for Woodman Life, Avilton, MD
Jay Roberts, Working on being kind to everyone, Charlotte, South Carolina

Mark Boucot, CEO Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD

Paul Edwards, Garrett County Commissioner, Grantsville, MD

Ladd Everitt, One Pulse for America, Washington, DC

Julia Musselwhite, Park Ranger, Flinstone MD

Courtney Mazza, Walking Gallery Artist and Singer in the Threshold Choir, Silver Spring, MD

Felicia Schrock, Registered Nurse, Grantsville, MD

Andrew Yoder, Life Coach, Grantsville MD

Mary Anne Sterling, Co-Founder Connected Health Resources, Ashburn, Virginia

Julie Arnheim, Wellness Thinker, Pittsburgh, PA

Christopher Elliott, Residential Advisor Lead for the State of Maryland, Grantsville, MD

Donna Jo Brenneman, Executive Director of Garrett County Hospice, Oakland MD

Mark Scrimshire, Entrepreneur in residence at HHS, Baltimore, MD

Kimi-Scott McGreevy, Director of Grant Development Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland MD

Angela Radcliffe, FCB Health, Philadelphia, PA

Alex Fair, Medstartr, New York, NY

Ashley Elliott, Patient Speaker focusing on addiction, Grantsville, MD

Joshua Rubin, Program Officer for Research and Development, Learning Health System, University of Michigan School of Information

Charles Wilt, Mountain Laurel Medical Center, Oakland, MD

Sharon J. Burton, Reiki Practitioner and artist, Washington DC

Abby Bott, Healthcare Advocate, Washington, DC

Erika Hanson Brown, Founder of Colontown, Washington, DC

Matthew Listiak, Filmaker, Los Angelos, CA

Mélanie Péron, CEO and Founder, L'Effet Papillon, Laval France

Performers:

Terah Crawford, Oakland, MD

Marsha Goodman-Wood, Washington, DC

Aaron Smith, Finzel, MD

What is the agenda?

Pre-conference: Wednesday, May 17, 2017

PechaKucha Accident Visits Grantsville! 7-9pm, The Cornucopia Café

Pechakucha is a fun & concise presentation style. PechaKucha nights have 8-12 speakers who follow a 20 slides 20 seconds pattern. 

Conference Day 1: Thursday, May 18, 2017

We will meet at 8:00 am at Penn Alps Restaurant for breakfast and our general sessions.  Then we will do breakout sessions until lunch.  The afternoon will also be filled with breakout sessions. The formal sessions will end at 5:00pm.

6:00pm to 8:00pm Salt and Pepper Studios: Home of the Walking Gallery

On Thursday, May 18^th at 6:00pm Conference attendees are invited to come to 189 Main Street in Grantsville and see the art center that Regina Holliday has created.  Refreshments will be provided and the event is free and open to the public.  

Conference Day 2: Friday, May 19, 
2017
Another conference day begins!  At 8:00 am meet at Penn Alps Restaurant and Meeting Center for breakfast and our general session.  Then we will do breakout sessions until lunch.  At Lunch time we will have a field trip to High Country Creamery and watch cheese being made.. The afternoon will also be filled with breakout sessions at Penn Alps.

The Big Tent in field in the Little Crossings Field by the Cornucopia Cafe
3:00-4:00 Facilitated Art Project by the Lilly Clinical Innovation team
4:00-5:00 Additional educational presentations.

The Walking Gallery Gathers 6:00-10:00pm 

At 6:00 pm we will gather at the Casselman River Bridge for a group shot of The Walking Gallery and the conference attendees.   We will then walk across the historic bridge to the Little Crossings field by Spruce Artisan Village.   

There we will have our evening event under the big tent; this portion of the conference event is open to the public and does not require tickets. Local musicians will play as well as performers from around the country.  We will also honor Jess Jacobs and Jerry Matczak, the members of the Walking Gallery that died since our last gathering.  We also honor Dave Wilt who helped build Salt and Pepper Studios: Home of the Walking Gallery. 

Conference Day 3: Saturday, May 20, 8:00-12:00 

8:00 am meet at Penn Alps Restaurant and Meeting Center for breakfast and our general session.  This day we will break into small groups to work on mentoring and individual coaching sessions.  General Conference close at noon.   Little Crossings will also host juried artists and local food venders for an Artisan and Epicurean Faire on this day.  Shuttle service will be available from town to the Penn Alps Campus.  

One to Grow On

When I was a child we looked forward to our birthdays with joy and trepidation.  Yes, we would get a few presents, a birthday cake and for a few very fortunate children there would be a birthday party to attend. But we would dread school on our birthdays.  Back then there were birthday spankings.  Ah, the acute embarrassment of going to the front of the classroom and bending over a desk to receive a spanking for each year of our lives.  These spanks weren’t too painful, but then there was the “one to grow on.” That final spank packed quite a wallop and many a child would return to their seats rubbing their behind.

When Alex Fair asked me to paint him a new jacket for him to wear in the Walking Gallery, I painted him with a birthday cake and candles. I named it "The candles that never go out."  I painted his happy face in darkness lit by flames and wrote Medstartr Ventures upon that cake for his work to help raise funds to improve healthcare. 

I have known Alex for almost seven years.  I know he still fights to improve healthcare when so many have dropped away from our cause.  I know he celebrates each year that his work struggles on as our changing economy and riotous political structure provides a type of encouragement that closely resembles that final birthday smack. 

Alex’s first jacket is falling apart.  He wore it often in the last 6 years. He joined in the beginning, when I did not know you should not paint on corduroy.   I am glad he will wear this new one.  As I said on twitter the other day, “An army of change needs uniforms.” 

I want you to think about that.

Why do armies need uniforms?  Most importantly it shows which side you on in wartime.  Joining The Walking Gallery shows that you are very much on the side of patients and overall improvement within healthcare.  Uniforms also make it really hard to set down your mantle of beliefs.  When we publicly wear our stories upon our backs it can be as heavy as a rucksack, yet not as easily set aside.