Maverick County Hospital District Representative Elias Diaz Attends Public Health Partner Summit

By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

Maverick County Hospital District representative Elias Diaz is participating in the FOCUS 2026 Partner Summit, joining health care professionals and researchers to discuss ways to strengthen public health through partnerships, screening and access to care.

The summit runs October 13–15, 2026 at the Gilead Sciences campus in Foster City, California, with virtual participation also available.

Diaz’s participation reflects his role as a public health advocate, helping bring attention to prevention, health education and the importance of connecting residents with available services.

For communities such as Maverick County, those efforts include encouraging people to seek screenings and follow through with care when a health concern is identified.

The conference theme, “Accelerating Public Health Impact Through Partnership for Health System Transformation,” centers on how organizations can work together to improve the delivery of public health services.

The summit discussions focus on innovation and best practices in blood-borne virus screening, diagnosis, and linking patients to care and prevention services.

The gathering uses Gilead’s FOCUS program implementation science model as a framework for examining how public health approaches can be put into practice within health systems.

A central emphasis is the connection between identifying an infection and ensuring that patients receive follow-up services.

Screening programs can identify people who need medical attention, while partnerships among providers and community organizations can help connect them with that care.

The opening agenda included a poster session highlighting regional impact and outcomes, giving participating organizations an opportunity to share findings and experiences.

A special partner poster session also featured highlights from the 2026 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

Scheduled opening plenary speakers included Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, senior vice president and chief quality and safety officer at AdventHealth, and Dr. Vítor Magno Pereira, a gastroenterologist at the Hospital of Funchal in Madeira, Portugal.
Daniel Escudero, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was also listed among the speakers.

For Diaz, the summit offered an opportunity to exchange ideas with public health partners and examine approaches relevant to advocacy and service coordination in Maverick County.