Treasure Valley Climate & Health Symposium

Thank you for joining us for the Treasure Valley Climate & Health Symposium, a regional event that brought together healthcare professionals, building operations teams, and engineers to explore the intersection of climate change and health. This event provided foundational education on climate change, reviewed its impacts on public health, and discussed practical solutions to reduce the healthcare sector’s carbon footprint. Through expert-led sessions and industry-specific breakout discussions, attendees gained valuable insights into how their fields can contribute to sustainable healthcare practices and a healthier future for our community.

Meeting Agenda and Speaker Information

Agenda

8:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. — Introductions by Wesley Pidcock, DO and Dr. Ethan Sims, MD
8:15 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. — Introduction to Climate Change - Jen Pierce, MD (in-person)
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. — Heat and Human Health - Marc Futernick, MD (virtual)
9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. — Wildfire and Health - Kathryn Conlon, PhD, MPH (in person)
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. — Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. — Mental Health - Elizabeth Pinsky, MD (virtual)
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. — Emerging Infections - Sky Blue, MD (in person)
12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m — Lunch/Break - Remarks from Boise Mayor Lauren McLean
1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. — Breakout Sessions
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. — Keynote Speech, Call to Action - Bruce Bekkar, MD
4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. — Close - Wesley Pidcock, DO & Amanda Blanchet, PA-C

Speakers
Kathryn Conlon, Phd, MPH	Dr. Conlon is an Associate Professor of environmental epidemiology at the University of California Davis (UC Davis). She is also Co-Director of the Climate Adaptation Research Center. Dr. Conlon's research centers on the health impacts of climate change, with a focus on environmental epidemiology, spatio-temporal exposure assessment, and adaptation strategies for protecting vulnerable populations from climate-related health risks.
Jennifer Pierce, PhD	Dr. Jen Pierce is a Professor at Boise State in the Department of Geosciences, where she has been since 2005. Her research and professional interests include wildfires and landscape response, soils and carbon storage, climate science education and outreach, and building diverse leadership in Geoscience.
Marc Futernick, MD	Marc Futernick, MD, is an Emergency Physician and climate advocate. He serves as National Director of Sustainability for U.S. Acute Care Solutions, a multi-specialty physician services company, focused primarily on Emergency Medicine. Dr. Futernick was a founder of the Environmental Action Committee at Dignity Health California Hospital Medical Center (CHMC).
Bruce Bekkar, MD	Bruce Bekkar, M.D., a women’s health physician, speaker, and author, has been engaged with the climate crisis since 2007. He currently serves as the Climate for Health Fellow at ecoAmerica, on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Climate Change and Health, and as Chair Emeritus of the Public Health Advisory Council in Southern California.
Elizabeth Pinsky, MD	Elizabeth Pinsky is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is the Associate Director of the Pediatric Psychiatry Consultation Service, and at Shriner’s Hospital for Children Boston. Dr. Pinsky believes that climate change poses the most urgent threat to children at that intersection of physical and mental health, and that clinicians caring for children have a responsibility to advocate for a rapid and just transition off fossil fuels.
Mayor Lauren McLean	Lauren McLean is the mayor of Boise, Idaho. The first woman elected to serve in this role in the city’s 150-year history, she advocates for open space conservation, addressing housing and homelessness, and climate action efforts. She is now in her second elected term serving as Boise’s 56th Mayor.
Sky Blue, MD	Dr. Sky Blue is an infectious disease specialist who has served Idaho patients for over 25 years. After completing his medical training at the University of Iowa and residency in Phoenix, he pursued fellowships in Infectious Diseases and Medical Informatics at the University of Utah. Since coming to Boise in 1997, he has built a distinguished career combining clinical care, research, and medical leadership. In addition to his current role as Medical Director for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention at St. Luke's Health System, he served for many years in parallel leadership positions at Saint Alphonsus Health System, where he also chaired the Institutional Review Board, overseeing the ethical conduct of clinical research.