AAMI’s ‘Bright Ideas’  Award Goes to Archbold Medical Center

In honor of Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) Week 2013, AAMI’s Technology Management Council (TMC) is proud to present the Bright Ideas Award to the Clinical Engineering (CE) Department at Archbold Medical Center in Thomasville, GA.

In an article appearing in the July/August 2012 edition of BI&T (Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology), representatives from the medical center describe how they partnered with nearby Southwest Georgia Technical College (SWGTC) to solve a staffing shortage. The innovative solution benefitted both institutions and caught the eye of the TMC.

Each year, the TMC selects six departments with a best practice that others might find valuable. Over the course of a year, each of those departments is then profiled in the regular  “Bright Ideas” feature (formerly called “Best Practices”) in BI&T. The TMC then selects one of the six as the best of the year.

In the article, Horace Hunter, Archbold’s clinical equipment manager, explained what led to his department’s idea.

“The main challenge was recruiting and hiring biomed professionals for our rural area in South Georgia,” said Hunter. “There are a limited number of biomed professionals [who] currently live in this area. And unfortunately, most applications that we reviewed were from individuals lacking biomed experience, though they had tremendous technical experience.”

Indeed, the staffing shortage was reaching a crucial stage, as the CE Department had only six of 11 allocated positions filled. The team had to use biomedical and dialysis technicians on an hourly basis, according to Jim Bue, vice president of Facilities and Operations at Archbold. Understaffed and facing rising costs, the CE team had to find a bold solution.

Undaunted, the team joined forces with human resources to conduct a formal market survey based on new requirements for education, experience, and certifications for biomedical technicians. It developed its ideal HTM candidate profile and turned to SWGTC, which previously had worked with other Archbold departments, to develop a new biomedical technology program at the college.

The result proved mutually beneficial.  Annie McElroy, PhD, vice president of academic affairs at SWGTC, worked to revive the college’s electronics program and used distance learning to attract potential HTM professionals. The program offered credit for practical, nontraditional experience and previously taken coursework. More than 20 interns have participated in the program, and Archbold has slashed costs by not having to pay consultants or staff overtime.

The facility will be presented with a plaque and $1,000 check at the AAMI 2013 Conference & Expo. 

AAMI, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967. It is a diverse community of nearly 7,000 healthcare technology professionals united by one important mission—supporting the healthcare community in the development, management, and use of safe and effective medical technology.