Just as healthcare treats nutrition and exercise as preventive essentials, it’s time to elevate social connection as the third pillar of health. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, warning that its impact on health is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

The data is clear: disconnection is linked to a wide range of adverse outcomes—from depression and anxiety to heart disease, cognitive decline, and reduced lifespan. It also drives up healthcare costs through unnecessary doctor visits and emergency room use.

Join Dr. Nancy Connolly, a practicing physician and the founding Executive Director for Community Health and Wellbeing at the U.S. Chamber of Connection, for a conversation about how the healthcare sector must lead in building systemic solutions to this growing crisis—and reverse the decline in social connection within the next decade. Building on the Chamber’s successful launch in Seattle and her own frontline experience as a clinician and policymaker, Dr. Connolly will share insights on:

– The current state of research linking health, well-being, and connection

– The business case for proactively investing in social connection

– The core systems we need to embed connections across society

– The Chamber of Connection’s strategy to drive this national movement

Moderated by Aaron Hurst, founder of the U.S. Chamber of Connection, this session will challenge and equip healthcare leaders, policymakers, and community builders to treat social connection not as a soft issue, but as the next frontier of public health.