Educators, health care workers, academics, and members of the Phoebe community gathered at DeSales University on April 30, 2025, for an educational glimpse into the future of aging services with the Phoebe Institute on Aging (PIA) Conference.
Every year, the PIA Conference aims to broaden the discourse surrounding a new or emerging topic in the world of healthcare. This year’s theme was “Empowered Aging: A.I. Solutions in Senior Healthcare.”
Dr. Laura Adams, Senior Advisor of the National Academy of Medicine, led the conversation as this year’s keynote speaker. She began by discussing just how invasive A.I. has become in our daily lives, making it clear that she neither fully embraces nor completely dismisses the technology.
Instead, Adams deftly weighed the pros and cons of A.I. in healthcare and aging services, walking attendees through how it has been implemented so far and where it may end up.
For the positives, Adams discussed how A.I. has allowed us to diagnose patients with greater accuracy and efficiency. The accessibility of generative A.I. has also led to life-saving diagnoses that doctors may have missed before it was too late.
On the other hand, Adams cites instances of healthcare-related discrepancies, a potential for overreliance on technology over education, and the lack of empathy built into A.I. models as reasons to be skeptical. Environmental sustainability also remains a concern for A.I. infrastructure.
In hopes of charting an equitable path forward, Adams proudly shared an A.I. Code of Conduct drafted by the National Academy of Medicine to promote ethical healthcare implementation. She explained that because the healthcare industry is generally slow to adopt new technologies, combined with the infancy of more robust A.I. models, now is a good time for interested companies to get in on the ground floor.
Ultimately, Adams argues for our relationship with A.I. to be purely supplemental to the care we provide for patients. The importance of maintaining a human-to-human connection cannot be overstated.
After a brief Q&A and discussion activity, panelists were introduced. They included Vik Sharma (Founder and CEO of MiraKare), Wayne Kelly (Innovator in Healthcare Information Delivery and COO of Mind Lens Global), Luke Gilligan (Founder and CEO of Resense), and Steven Freed (Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Celebr8 Life).
The panel echoed many of the same sentiments that Adams shared, expounding upon their respective work. Each panelist explained the various ways in which they are implementing A.I. in their own companies.
Throughout the morning, we also heard words of thanks and encouragement from President & CEO of Phoebe Ministries Scott Stevenson, as well as members of the PIA Committee including Sharon Matthew and Carmen Bell.
Between sessions, attendees visited one of the many booths represented by various organizations, businesses, and Phoebe branches. These included Mindful Libraries, Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania, Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s, MiraKare, Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley, Celebr8, Pathstones by Phoebe, Phoebe Pharmacy, Phoebe Richland (with their Dementia Support Group), and Comforting Home Care by Phoebe.
Thanks to our wonderful keynote speaker and panelists, attendees left the event with a greater understanding of the state of A.I. in Healthcare.
For more photos from the 2025 PIA Conference, please visit 2025 Phoebe Institute on Aging Conference.
Written by Dominic Trabosci
