Sandra Calderon sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during a trip to a Washington Nationals game as part of an HTM Week celebration, but now she is singing “Take Me To The MD Expo.”
Calderon is the grand prize winner of the TechNation HTM Week Contest. Her prize includes an all-inclusive trip for two to the premier HTM conference, the MD Expo Orlando, for her and one other biomed from her shop! The prize includes travel and lodging to the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, Orlando’s newest Hilton Orlando hotel, plus free passes to all Expo events and a daily stipend.
Calderon, BMET Supervisor, INOVA Clinical Engineering, Falls Church, Va., had a group from the department attend a MLB game between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets at Nationals Parks in Washington, D.C.
“We celebrated HTM week by going to a Washington Nationals game the weekend prior. It was a great game although they lost,” Calderon said. “The weather was perfect and we got to enjoy fun times with coworkers.”
Calderon said she and Belinda O’neal, BMET 2, even got their picture taken with the Nationals mascot at the game. The Monday of HTM Week the celebration continued.
“I brought breakfast for my staff and my manager bought lunch,” Calderon said.
Calderon’s entry in the contest was one of many. Each entry will receive a prize pack that includes a Biomed Bob stress ball. The other entries included Greg Goll from Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Goll and his HTM team did a presentation in the hospital cafeteria on the history of heart lung bypass at Erlanger Health System. They displayed the hospital’s original Mayo-Gibbon Pump Oxygenator. Dr. James Headrick actually used this machine to do heart surgery at the facility in the early 1960s. It sat in a garage from the mid-1960s until recently when it was cosmetically restored. It is one of three to still exist with one in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Min., and the other one is in storage in Washington, D.C. The Erlanger team pulled open the device to show how electronics were done in the early 1960s. The shop also displayed a recently retired SARNS Heart Lung Bypass machine, so they could show the 40-year jump in technology.
Max Goldtooth Sr. celebrated HTM Week by wearing the T-shirts that he has received from TechNation, MedWrench, USOC, Pacific Medical and MD ExBowl for each day during HTM Week.
Horace Hunter and GBIS started preparing for HTM Week by having several GBIS members attend a proclamation signing and had a photo taken at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Ga. GBIS conducted a survey during the start of HTM Week to encourage participation. The survey started with 9 organizations involved and grew to include more than 30 before the week ended.
Dr. Mike O’Rear celebrated HTM Week by posting a photo of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signing a Proclamation for HTM Week at Chattchoochee Technical College where he is an instructor.
Edward Drone at Beacon Health System in Elkhart, Ind., said they had a lighter celebration in 2014.
“We normally like to have an open-house, but this year has been a busy time for us. The manager provided us a full lunch this year,” he explained.
Wayne Craig in Glendale, Calif., said his department celebrated with a two-day display in the cafeteria and held an employee breakfast on the Tuesday of HTM Week. Each employee was also presented with a Leatherman tool.
TechNation applauds all HTM professionals and we look forward to celebrating with another contest in 2015.