By AAMI
AAMI Launches Fellow Program with 14 Honorees
AAMI has launched a fellow program to celebrate leaders in the health technology and sterilization fields who have also distinguished themselves through their contributions to the association.
The inaugural class, announced June 8 at the AAMI Exchange in Cleveland, consists of 14 AAMI members who come from various backgrounds.
“We are extremely proud of this inaugural class of fellows. These individuals inspire us to contribute more to our professional communities,” said AAMI President and CEO Robert Jensen.
AAMI recognizes fellows for the depth and breadth of their accomplishments in seven core areas: professional experience, education, technical contributions, presentations and publications, professional participation, certification, and awards and honors.
The 14 fellows are:
Matthew Baretich, PE, PhD, president of Baretich Engineering in Fort Collins, CO. Baretich has been a champion in the health technology community for decades. In addition to his clinical and forensic engineering practice, he has been a faculty member for Certified Clinical Engineer (CCE) and Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) exam review and for international workshops. He is a popular presenter and a prolific author on a range of healthcare technology management (HTM) topics.
David Braeutigam, MBA, CHTM, CBET, ITIL, president of Braeutigam Enterprises LLC in Arlington, TX. Braeutigam, formerly system director of HTM at Baylor Scott & White Health, specializes in HTM operations, benchmarking, leadership training, and public speaking. He is a member of AAMI’s Technology Management Council and HTM benchmarking initiative, and co-authored AAMI’s HTM Benchmarking Guide.
Tobey Clark, BSBME, MSEE, CCE, CHTM, FACCE, SASHE, engineering supervisor, Instrumentation and Technical Services, University of Vermont in Burlington, VT. Clark has had a remarkable career that includes directing HTM assistance and services to more than 30 hospitals in Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire; health technology education; and instrumentation design and engineering management. He directs the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Health Technology Management.
Carol Davis-Smith, CCE, president of Carol Davis-Smith & Associates, LLC, in Phoenix, AZ. Formerly vice president of clinical technology at Kaiser Permanente, Davis-Smith is an HTM executive with extensive experience in health care delivery, group purchasing, and consulting organizations. She has played leadership roles on the AAMI Board of Directors and its Strategic Planning Task Force, Technology Management Council, Nominating Committee, and BI&T Editorial Board.
David Dickey, FACHE, CHC, CCE, CHTM, vice president of clinical engineering at McLaren Health Care headquartered in Grand Blanc, MI. Dickey has a long history of writing and speaking on quality and safety issues, management practices, benchmarking, productivity, and cost effectiveness. He is a member of the AAMI Healthcare Technology Leadership Committee and the Medical Equipment Management Committee.
Stephen Grimes, FACCE, FHIMSS, FAIMBE, principal consultant at Strategic Healthcare Technology Associates in Swampscott, MA. Grimes is deeply involved in advancing the safe and effective use of complex health technology. As a consultant, he has worked with WHO and the Pan American Healthcare Organization on HTM, and has advised and taught in many countries. He sits on the Board of the AAMI Credentials Institute and is a member of the AAMI Standards Committee for Medical Equipment Management and the BI&T Editorial Board.
Heidi Horn, vice president of global enablement-healthcare at Nuvolo. Horn stands out for her various leadership roles, such as facilitating the formation of the HTM Leadership Forum for executives in mid-sized to large health systems to discuss best practices and solutions to shared HTM issues. A member of the AAMI Board of Directors, she is also the vice chair and chair-elect of the AAMI Technology Management Council and has served on many other AAMI committees and task forces.
Paul Kelley, CBET, director of biomedical engineering, the Green Initiative, and asset redeployment at Washington Hospital in Fremont, CA. Kelly is a voice for biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs) at local, state, national, and international levels. AAMI recognized his department this year as one of only two in the nation with the inaugural “100% Certified” designation – every technician in the department has passed the rigorous CBET exam. Kelley is a member of the AAMI Board of Directors.
George Mills, FASHE, CHFM, CEM, CHOP-DNV, director of healthcare technical operations at JLL. Mills is a legend in the HTM community. At The Joint Commission, where he formerly served as director of engineering, he forged a long relationship with AAMI that resulted in the development of standards that benefit the HTM community. He rallied the HTM community to provide data to support alternate equipment management (AEM) programs. He sits on the AAMI Board of Directors.
Gerry O’Dell, CISS, president of Gerry O’Dell Consulting in Wesley Chapel, FL. O’Dell is a registered microbiologist who has generously shared her knowledge of all sterilization modalities, microbiology, and compliance in the medical device industry as an AAMI standards developer and instructor. She serves on more than a dozen AAMI Sterilization Standards Committee working groups, and co-chairs the Industrial Moist Heat Sterilization Working Group (AAMI/ST/WG 03).
Michael H. Scholla, PhD, global director of regulatory and standards and Medical Packaging Fellow at Dupont Safety & Construction in Wilmington, DE. A former chair of the AAMI Board of Directors, Scholla is a microbiologist with substantial expertise in medical packaging and sterilization. He has been a key contributor to AAMI’s Sterilization Standards Committee since 1992, when it was formed to mirror a committee with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Charles Sidebottom, P. Eng., managing partner at PPO Standards in Minneapolis. Sidebottom, a former chair of the AAMI Board of Directors, knows the ins and outs of international standards from decades of experience. He has been a global leader in developing and promoting landmark standards for electrical equipment, medical devices, risk management, and labeling, among others.
James Wear, CCE, CPC, CHSP, FASHE, FAIMBE, FACCE, FAIC, consultant, educator and healthcare technology management leader (retired) based in North Little Rock, AR. He has been a professor of biomedical instrumentation, chemistry, and biophysics. He was the director of the Veterans Administration Education and Training Center, where he developed the courses and curriculum for clinical engineers and BMETs.
Axel Wirth, CPHIMS, CISSP, HCISPP, distinguished technical architect at Symantec Corporation in Cambridge, MA, and adjunct professor in the biomedical engineering program at the University of Connecticut. Wirth is best known for his thought leadership and subject matter expertise in applying cybersecurity in the complex medical device ecosystem. Wirth edited a must-have resource, Medical Device Cybersecurity: A Guide for HTM Professionals, with AAMI Fellow Stephen Grimes.
For more information, visit www.aami.org/fellow.
