By K. Richard Douglas
The southeastern U.S. offers a number of benefits to residents. For the outdoors person, mountains and oceanfront are each within easy reach.
South Carolina is the perfect example of a vacation destination. The state’s shoreline includes beautiful beaches and sea islands. It is a mecca for tourists and adventurers. It is also a favorite destination for golfers. The cities of Myrtle Beach and Charleston offer relaxation, history and views of the ocean.
The state is also home to 108 hospitals, as well as many other health care facilities. With all the retirees and tourists joining the state’s population; convenient quality health care is a must.
The army of healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals required to repair and maintain all of that medical equipment are unified by the state’s biomed association; the Healthcare Technology Management Association of South Carolina (HTMA-SC).
The group has been around since 2010 and current officers include President Dan Paladino, Vice President Shawn Lease, Treasurers Mary Coker and Aaron Brengleman and Secretary Howard Scarver. Board members include Scott Keker, Nathan Tucker, Steven Helms, Joe Howe and Kaylee McCaffrey.
The organization was originally the South Carolina Biomedical Association (SCBA) and was started by Pat Lynch. He has served on the board of many other HTM associations as well.
“It was part of a ground swell movement at the time to develop and strengthen the biomedical community across the nation,” Paladino says.
He says that it HTMA-SC has always offered free membership to biomeds.
“South Carolina is a state with a smaller health care footprint over a large geographical region, so bringing together HTM professionals was not an easy task,” Paladino adds.
Paladino says that the HTMA-SC board holds virtual meetings twice a month and tries to meet in person twice a year, including an annual symposium.
“We are looking to grow into having more in-person meetings in 2022, to include vendors, at unique venues that will include education, food and fun,” he says.
The group also makes scholarship opportunities available to members.
“We provide certification scholarships for our members. This year was our most successful in awarding four $600 scholarships,” Paladino says.
Currently, the group has a relationship with the College of Biomedical Equipment Technology and is looking to partner with others in the future.
Symposium Improvements
Through a name-change and a roster of activities for state biomeds, HTMA-SC has endeavored to recognize the efforts of local HTM professionals and help with the recruitment of new biomeds.
“Annually, there has been an educational symposium – also free. This meeting has given an opportunity for HTM technicians, managers and vendors an opportunity to network and learn. As the organization has grown, changed and survived COVID-19, the original mission of providing an HTM communication touchpoint is still at the heart of the association, known now as Healthcare Technology Management Association-South Carolina. HTMA-SC has grown over the years also – offering scholarships, restructuring the annual meeting and developing learning opportunities outside of the annual meeting,” Paladino says.
He says that the group’s membership includes many members throughout the United States. Paladino encourages all HTM professionals to join an association – be it HTMA-SC or a local group.
“We like to be active in all of our local hospitals. We recognize biomed shops monthly on our social media, and help managers with job postings on our websites and LinkedIn. We also promote our corporate sponsors and vendors on all platforms as their support is a key to our growth and success. HTMA-SC partners with market leading ISOs and OEMs to provide critical ongoing education for our members,” Paladino says.
A big part of the association’s annual events is its symposium.
“We hold our symposium in Columbia, South Carolina every May. We usually have 80-100 biomeds and 25-30 vendors in attendance. We offer nine training sessions and try to have as many hands-on classes for our attendees as possible. In years past, we’ve had vendors bring in equipment such as C-arms, ultrasounds, injectors, patient monitors, DR plates, etcetera. Last year was our biggest show yet, and moving into a bigger venue was well received by our attendees. The association continues to grow, and we look forward to having our best symposium ever next year,” Paladino says.
He says that the symposium held in May of 2022 was a pivotal year for the HTMA-SC.
“We ventured into a new venue at the Columbia Convention Center, which impressed both attendees and vendor sponsors. There was plenty of space for our exhibitors, nine educational sessions, as well as food, snacks and beverages. As 2022 would have it, we had our keynote speaker, Danielle McGeary, present virtually and her messaging was received very well by our attendees. Based on our feedback, we believe we will use the same venue again in 2023, but possibly look at refreshing the schedule for exhibitors and educational sessions,” Paladino says.
Biomed associations are an important link in the effort to bring new technicians into the field to replace retiring HTM professionals. This effort also helps grow the association’s membership.
“We have several board members including Aaron Brengleman, Kaylee McCaffrey and Nathan Tucker who have been instrumental in promoting and recruiting for the HTMA-SC via social media. We are also looking to partner with neighboring associations to draw in additional talent and membership,” Paladino says.
In the destination state of South Carolina, the beaches are relaxing, the history rich and the HTM profession is made better, thanks to the HTMA-SC. It’s a good place to live and a good place to be a biomed.
For more information, visit scba.wildapricot.org.
