NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana Center for Health Equity (LCHE) will hold its 11th Annual Health Summit Sept. 24-25 at Dillard University, examining Louisiana’s health challenges and the forces shaping them. Health, policy and community leaders will explore who is shaping Louisiana’s health future and what can be done differently to improve outcomes, from public policy and economic conditions to technology and civic engagement.
Louisiana ranked 50th overall for the fourth consecutive year in the 2025 America’s Health Rankings Annual Report, including last in both health outcomes and social and economic factors.
Those challenges are not evenly distributed. Louisiana Department of Health data show that Black infants were 2.5 times as likely to die before their first birthday as white infants from 2020 through 2022. The department identifies social and economic factors, including income, housing and access to preventive healthcare, among the factors that can contribute to racial disparities in infant and child mortality.
“This year’s Summit will focus on the forces shaping health in Louisiana, including economic and food insecurity, maternal and reproductive health, mental and behavioral health, healthcare access, workforce challenges, emerging technology and AI, misinformation, civic participation, and health equity,” said Alma Stewart Allen, president and founder of the Louisiana Center for Health Equity. “We want to have honest conversations about the challenges communities are facing while also focusing on practical solutions, stronger partnerships, and the policies and community action needed to move Louisiana forward.”
LA40by2030
The summit is part of LCHE’s LA40by2030 initiative, which seeks to move Louisiana into the top 40 states for health outcomes by 2030.
Stewart Allen said Louisiana has made progress in healthcare access, maternal and child health and education, but significant challenges remain, including poverty, behavioral health and access to care.
“The greatest opportunity now is to move from recognizing problems to building the collective will, partnerships, accountability, and sustained investment needed to address them,” Stewart Allen said. “We cannot improve Louisiana’s health outcomes by focusing on healthcare alone. LA40by2030 calls us to address the policies, systems, and social conditions that shape people’s opportunities to be healthy—and to work together across healthcare, education, government, business, and communities to achieve measurable, equitable, and lasting improvements in health outcomes.”
LCHE Summit – Focus on Young Leaders
“This year, we are placing a stronger emphasis on intergenerational leadership and emerging voices,” Stewart Allen said. “Young adults are not just attending the Summit; they are helping shape it through the Program Committee, serving as moderators and panelists, and participating in our Health Summit Ambassador Program. The theme, ‘Advancing Health in a New Era,’ also reflects the major changes happening in healthcare, public policy, technology, the economy, and the way people access information, and we want to bring different generations and sectors together to navigate those changes collaboratively.”
The emphasis builds on conversations LCHE has had with young people through last year’s Young Emerging Leaders panel, its Health Crusaders program and other youth-focused discussions.
“Our young people are ready, and they have made it clear that they want to be part of the conversation,” Stewart Allen said. “Through last year’s Young Emerging Leaders panel, our Health Crusaders program, and other youth-focused discussions, we have heard young adults speak candidly about mental health, rising costs, feeling unheard, access to opportunity, and concerns about their future. They are paying attention, asking questions, and doing the research, and if they are going to inherit the Louisiana we are building today, their voices need to be in the room helping shape what comes next.”
Speakers and Programming
Featured speakers include Daniel E. Dawes, founding dean of the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College, who will discuss how policy, politics and other systemic forces shape health outcomes; Eric D. Griggs, a New Orleans physician and community health leader, who will address emerging health challenges in Louisiana and moving from crisis to action; and Gary Chambers Jr., founder of Civics for the People, who will discuss civic engagement, leadership and the role communities play in shaping their future.
New this year, LCHE will hold a pre-summit Opportunity & Job Fair from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sept. 23 at Dillard University, connecting students, recent graduates, job seekers and young professionals with employers, graduate programs, healthcare organizations, government agencies, nonprofits and community organizations.
The summit will also include opportunities for students to present research and creative work related to health and health equity. Student poster presentations will focus on chronic disease, community safety, maternal and child health and behavioral health, while a creative showcase will feature artwork, photography, poetry and data visualizations.
LCHE invites healthcare and public health professionals, policymakers, educators, researchers and advocates as well as students, young adults, community members and people with lived experience to register.
“We need professional expertise, but we also need youth voices, rural perspectives, lived experience, and insights from healthcare, education, business, technology, policy, and advocacy,” Stewart Allen said. “No single sector can solve Louisiana’s health challenges alone. We want attendees to leave with new knowledge, new relationships, and a clearer sense of what they can do next. Ultimately, the Summit is about bringing people together, sharing responsibility, and building a healthier Louisiana together.”
