The 2026 HASC Annual Meeting is now behind us, and I’ve been reflecting on what we accomplished together at the Park Hyatt Aviara last month — and how much it meant.
To everyone who joined us in Carlsbad: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whether you traveled from across the HASC region or just down the road, your presence made a difference. These gatherings matter most when the stakes are high, and right now, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Funding cuts, workforce shortages, rising uncompensated care, regulatory uncertainty. Our hospitals are navigating all of it simultaneously, and they’re doing so without losing sight of their mission. That is no small thing.
This year’s program reflected the moment we’re in. Our keynote speaker, Suneel Gupta, bestselling author and founding CEO of RISE, delivered a message that clearly hit home. His work on resilience and sustainable performance isn’t abstract theory; it’s directly relevant to leaders who, day after day, must do more with less while keeping their teams intact and the patient care moving forward. The energy in the room during his session was something I won’t soon forget.
That energy carried into our panel discussion on caring for the uninsured and underinsured. Panelists Darlene Wetton, Southwest Healthcare; Kim Milstien, Rady Children’s Hospital Orange County; and Martha Santana-Chin, L.A. Care Health Plan, spoke candidly about the actual costs — financial, operational and clinical — when patients delay care until a crisis and arrive at the ED without coverage. Having served as panel moderator, I can tell you the conversation resonated deeply. This challenge is one our members are living every day, and it was powerful to both name it plainly and think through it together.
Our breakout sessions brought that same spirit of honest, practical dialogue to topics ranging from hospital violence prevention to capitation risk, AI in care delivery and communications in a time of shrinking coverage. Across the board, speakers shared about what’s working, including innovative frameworks in use, data from live deployments and lessons learned under pressure.
Beyond the sessions, I was encouraged by something that wasn’t on the agenda: the conversations in hallways, at meals and during the evening events. Those exchanges between peers who understand each other’s realities are an important part of what makes the Annual Meeting worth the trip each year.
Healthcare in Southern California is undergoing a defining period, and I’m grateful we’re facing it together, as exemplified in our time in Carlsbad.
I hope to see you again next April 26 to 28, 2027, back in Carlsbad. Details will be forthcoming in the months ahead. Mark your calendars now!
Take care and stay safe.
George G.