Event Boasts Impressive Educational Opportunities
By John Wallace
Amid the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic and the unique disruptions it continues to create, MD Publishing is committed to delivering quality educational opportunities for HTM professionals.
The April MD Expo (Irvine) was re-scheduled to be held in Irvine, California on July 27-29. However, Hotel Irvine (the venue) recently announced that it will remain closed through July, and likely for the remainder of the year. The scheduled MD Expo Irvine, presented by MD Publishing and TechNation magazine, has been replaced with three smaller, regional HTM Mixers in Colorado, Wisconsin and California.
Also, the most popular MD Expo (Irvine) classes will now be available via Webinar Week beginning July 27. MD Expo organizers reviewed pre-registration numbers and selected sessions to be presented in a digital classroom setting that will build on the already popular Webinar Wednesday Series.
“We understand that participants may be hesitant or unable to travel so by providing local, regional conferences, we will be able to provide the education and networking that they need,” MD Publishing President and Founder John Krieg said. “If hospitals can’t come to us, we will go to them.”
One session to be offered during Webinar Week deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. “Straight Talk on COVID-19’s Effect on the HTM Industry” is designed as a panel discussion to provide insights and a forum where biomeds can share best practices.
This panel discussion will feature leaders from across the healthcare technology management arena to address how COVID-19 has impacted them, their departments, their facilities and their communities as a whole. They will share the hurdles they’ve faced, but also the triumphs they’ve celebrated, and their insights on the aftermath of this pandemic. Questions from attendees are welcome and will be addressed by the panel participants.
Panel members include UHS of Delaware Inc. Senior Director of Healthcare Technology Management Christopher G. Nowak, CBET, CHP, CSCS; University of Cincinnati Health Clinical Engineering System Director Jennifer DeFrancesco, DHA, MS, CHTM; Middlesex Health Clinical Engineering Manager Michael Heusser MS, CCE; and Intermountain Continuum of Care Clinical Engineering System Director Mike Busdicker, CHTM, FACHE.
Another presentation scheduled for Webinar Week is “A Collaborative Approach to Downtime Planning for Critical Medical Device Systems” presented by Izabella Gieras, Director, Clinical Technology, Huntington Hospital.
All medical device systems will experience downtimes, whether planned or unplanned. With the proliferation of medical device integration and interconnectivity, the downtimes can have a significant impact not just on one system, one application, but on a multitude of systems, hospital-wide. Careful planning, which includes seamless communication as well as practical policies and procedures, and sound change management, supports smooth downtime planning, when scheduled and facilitates minimal impact on clinical and non-clinical operations, when unplanned. Additionally, the presenter will speak to the collaborative approach within a multidisciplinary team that needs to be involved in such planning.
“Strategic Technology Planning – Process, Leading Practices & Pandemics” will also be a part of Webinar Week. Carol Davis-Smith, president of Carol Davis-Smith & Associates LLC “will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has or could impact strategic technology planning going forward. We will clarify what strategic technology planning is and is not, then review the process steps and leading practices so HTM professionals can initiate or enhance the strategic technology planning process within their organization.”
The session should be immediately applicable to supervisors, managers, directors, and other management roles. Staff (individual contributors) may also find this session helpful in becoming stronger contributors to the HTM department’s success. Those individuals seeking to advance into management roles will find the session useful in developing perspective and skills that will support career growth.
Also, Biomed Security Administrator David Yaeger and ProHealth Care Director HTM and Biomedical Engineering Rob Bundick will present “Maintaining an In-House Medical Device Cybersecurity Program.”
At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will have an understanding of how to get started in creating a cybersecurity program in their facilities. If a program is already in place, it will discuss how to keep progress moving forward for a secure and protected facility.
For more information, visit 1technation.com/webinarweek.
