Legacy hosts conference to better healthcare across region
November 10, 2026
Epic, the Wisconsin-based company that provides software to healthcare organizations across the globe, hosts two conferences a year at its headquarters to provide updates on new features and share learnings from others about how they use Epic.
The training is sought after and valuable. It’s also very expensive to send members of our team to Wisconsin, which creates a significant barrier to attendance. Kelley Aurand, DO, FAAFP, FAMIA, clinical vice president of medical informatics at Legacy, wondered if there was enough interest to host a regional conference to benefit from the lessons other learn when they travel to Wisconsin to attend the conference. She regularly meets with a group of local chief medical information officers and asked them about the idea of regional conference.
“They overwhelmingly were on board,” she said.
That’s how 106 people filled the Lorenzen Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center on Sept. 11. They came from the Portland metro area, Bellingham, WA., the Oregon coast and points in between.
Legacy partnered with Kaiser Permanente Northwest to hold the gathering, demonstrating its partnership with others to better the health of our communities and how Legacy is here for good.
Aurand and her partners connected with Epic, which provided two of its representatives to attend. They recruited Dr. CT Lin, the author of a book focused on informatics and legend in the field, to be the keynote speaker. Finally, Aurand sent out a call for colleagues willing to give presentations on their learnings.
“Typically, all you hear is crickets when you ask for presenters, but I had 29 submissions from health systems across the state,” she said.
The Epic representatives provided valuable information about its AI roadmap and future features that will benefit healthcare organizations. Aurand said the presentations from peers provided creative and insightful ways to use Epic. Perhaps, most importantly, the group heard about familiar struggles.
“You think you’re the only organization dealing with an issue so it’s freeing to learn you’re not alone,” she said.
The event was an overwhelming success, with 100% of survey respondents indicating they would attend future meetings. Interest exceeded the capacity of the Lorenzen Conference Center, suggesting an even larger venue may be needed next year.
The success of the one-day event led Aurand and her peers to create a nonprofit organization dedicated to future Epic training events for regional healthcare organizations to collaborate and share from each other's success and learnings.
The nonprofit status allows the group to secure sponsors so future events can attract more attendees and lower the cost of attendance. The group is already planning for the next conference, which will be held in October 2027.
"We know we are better together, and we can take better care of our patients if we work together. We are collaborating for the betterment of our patients, our clinicians and the community," Aurand said.
