‘Innovation in Healthcare’ is focus of 2025 Catholic medical conference

 January 23, 2025

‘Innovation in Healthcare’ is focus of 2025 Catholic medical conference

Registration is underway for the 2025 medical conference presented by the Cleveland Guild of the Catholic Medical Association. The event will take place on Feb. 22 at St. Albert the Great Parish, 6667 Wallings Road, North Royalton.

The conference begins at 8 a.m. with Mass celebrated in the church by Bishop Martin Amos, retired bishop of Davenport, Iowa. The program begins at 9:15 a.m. in the Parish Life Center.

Theme for this year’s conference is “Innovation in Healthcare: The Necessity of Contemplation and Mercy.” Healthcare professionals as well as the public are invited to attend.

The theme was chosen because innovation is essential in medicine to develop new therapies and approaches to help alleviate suffering and to eradicate illness, said conference organizers.

Seven sessions are scheduled. The program will include the following speakers and topics:

9:15 a.m. – Dr. Jesse Felt, vice president of the Cleveland Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University Medical School, academic, internal medicine, Cleveland VA Medical Center, “Point of Care Ultrasound, Functional Medicine and Parts Work: New Paradigms for the Pursuit of Truth.”

10 a.m. – Father Joseph Brankatelli, chaplain of the Cleveland Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, “Moral and Ethical Concerns with the use of AI in Medicine: How Religious Moral Teachings Cautions in the Medical Community About Potential Challenges with AI.”

11 a.m. – Christopher Klofft, moral theologian, associate professor of theology at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts, “Enhancing the Dignity of Patients in an era of Emergent Medical Technologies.”

12:45 p.m. – Dr. Katherine Taljan, reproductive psychiatrist with Silver Lake Psychiatry in Westlake, “Advances in Postpartum Depression Treatment.”

1:30 p.m. – Klofft will make a second presentation, “Emergent Medical Technologies and Their Effects on the Relationships Between Healthcare Professionals and Patients.”

2:30 p.m. – Andrew Trew, adjunct professor of systematics at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe and bioethicist for the Cleveland Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, “The Promises and Pitfalls of AI and Robotics in Healthcare: A Catholic Bioethics Perspective.”

3:15 p.m. – Dr. Ron Sobecks, professor of medicine, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, president of the Cleveland Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, “Approaches to Merciful Healthcare in an era of Innovation: Enhancing the Patient Experience.”

The conference will conclude at 4 p.m. Lunch and two breaks are included.

Cost is $45 for the day. Students can attend for free and a virtual option is available. The conference offers 5.25 hours of continuing medical education credits for medical professionals. Registration fee for those receiving the medical education credits is $190. Click here for more information or to register. For assistance with registration, contact Debra Sudy, 216-696-6525, Ext. 3670. Call 216-312-4172 for questions about the conference.