COVID-19 Update from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine
March 8, 2020
Dear SBSM Members and Registered Attendees,
We regret to inform you that our leadership has made the very difficult decision to cancel the 2020 SBSM Annual Meeting to be held in Long Beach, California March 11-14 due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
SBSM has been actively monitoring the developments related to COVID-19 and the emerging outbreaks within the United States and elsewhere. Several factors contributed to our decision to cancel the 2020 meeting that we have so eagerly been anticipating. After careful review of the fast-growing number of members’ institutions that have implemented travel bans, engagement with local jurisdictions and federal health officials, and acknowledging the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention age-related travel restrictions, we have concluded that this is the right decision for the Society. The outbreak of COVID-19 has highlighted many of the health inequities in our system, which especially gives us pause as investigators, clinicians, and public health professionals. As difficult as this decision is, the health and safety of our membership, our attendees, and our communities are our priority.
We want to recognize and thank the SBSM members involved in organizing the meeting for their work, dedication, and planning efforts -- in particular, SBSM Program Committee Chair John Ruiz and the entire Program Committee.
The cancellation of this meeting will be costly to SBSM from a financial perspective. Due to the cancellation, SBSM will refund registration fees in full in the original form of payment, unless you kindly indicate you are not requesting a full refund. You will receive a registration cancellation confirmation in a separate email within the next week.
Please continue to let us know of any institutional travel bans which will help us in our effort to reduce APS’s liability to the hotel and vendors.
IMPORTANT: You will need to cancel your hotel and airline reservations directly. Please reference your hotel confirmation email for instructions on how to cancel online.
We thank you for your patience and understanding while the SBSM leadership took the necessary time to thoroughly evaluate the rapidly evolving and complex situation. We are all disappointed but will regroup.
Sincerely,
Sue Everson-Rose
SBSM President
March 6, 2020
The 2020 SBSM Annual Meeting “Achieving Health Equity: Opportunities for Psychosomatic Science” will take place as scheduled from March 11-14 in Long Beach, California. We will be taking all necessary and recommended precautions to ensure the health and safety of attendees at the meeting and encourage everyone to engage in everyday preventive measures to prevent the spread of germs and avoid illness.
While in Long Beach, we are collaborating with the Long Beach Hilton to provide increased hand sanitizer stations, attendee educational materials on ways to minimize risk, and enhanced cleaning of all frequently touched areas in the hotel.
We encourage all members and attendees who have concerns about the novel coronavirus and traveling to refer to the CDC or WHO websites and not rely solely on news sources or headlines. We will continue to post updates as more information is available.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
We understand that a small percentage of registered participants are now facing travel restrictions beyond their control that will prohibit their attendance. For those unable to attend the meeting due to travel restrictions, please contact info@psychosomatic.org. We will also be livestreaming most plenary and several paper sessions (and are adding new sessions daily) and encourage those who are not able to attend the meeting in person to register for that option. All requests for refunds will be processed after the meeting.
Registration for this year’s Annual Meeting has been strong and we are looking forward to a safe and successful meeting in Long Beach.
Message From Hilton Worldwide
March 4, 2020
Subject: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Latest News from Hilton
Dear Customers & Friends:
We are actively monitoring novel coronavirus (COVID-19) updates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and responding based on the best advice of medical professionals and public health authorities. Given the evolving nature of the coronavirus, Hilton has implemented specific Coronavirus Awareness Training for all managed hotels globally. If enhanced facilities cleaning or other operational actions are required, we put those into action as per protocol (e.g., hand sanitizer stations in public areas, enhanced cleaning of all frequently touched areas in the hotel). Currently, there are no travel restrictions within the United States. Our hotels are open for business as usual and are committed to ensuring the successful execution of your meetings.
We encourage you to also review the resources provided by industry leaders such as U.S. Travel and Meetings Mean Business .
_______________________
Jennifer Emerson (she/her)
Director of Association Sales
Hilton Worldwide Sales