Former President Bill Clinton, founder of The William J. Clinton Foundation, 42^nd President of the United States, and many might say, the country’s speaker in chief, takes the stage at HIMSS13 on Wednesday, March 6, 1-2:15 p.m.

“The timing is right to have President Clinton join us, because the election will be over, and its effects will just be taking hold in Washington and across the nation, HIMSS President and CEO H. Stephen Lieber said last September, when he announced in a news release that Clinton would headline the annual conference. “With a continued bipartisan focus on the best use of health IT to improve healthcare delivery, attendees at the conference will want to hear what President Clinton has to say.” 

Indeed. For many people Clinton represents more affluent times for the country. William Jefferson Clinton was the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice – first in 1992 and then in 1996. Under his leadership, the country enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest economic expansion in U.S history, including the creation of more than 22 million jobs, HIMSS pointed out when it announced Clinton as speaker.

After leaving the White House, President Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation with the mission to strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence. Today the Foundation has staff and volunteers around the world working to improve lives through several initiatives, including the Clinton Health Access Initiative, which is helping 4 million people living with HIV/AIDS access lifesaving drugs.

Karen Malone, vice president of meeting services for HIMSS, sees Clinton not only as a “big get,” but even more so as the right speaker at the right time.

“We thought this year the time was right because of so much going on in the political environment because of the elections and divisiveness in some cases.” She said Clinton would speak about his foundation’s Global Initiative in relation to healthcare and technology. “He knows so much about healthcare. He’ll talk about the system and what he sees for the future.”

Photo: Ralph Alswang/Clinton Foundation