HTM Professionals Bask in Spotlight During Celebratory Week
With political proclamations, contests, promotions, and thanks from their employers, healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals enjoyed a week a recognition that paid tribute to their important work.
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| Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal with members of the Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society |
The week, celebrated May 19-25, kicked off with a message from AAMI President Mary Logan, who noted that 24 different organizations had joined AAMI as supporting partners to recognize members of the field. “Whether you are a biomedical equipment technician or clinical engineer or a lab technician or imaging specialist, your role is critically important to improving patient outcomes, controlling costs, reducing risks, and providing critical training and support to physicians, nurses, and other clinicians,” she said.
Day 2 featured a free webinar on wireless security that was attended remotely by 210 sites. During the webinar, Steven D. Baker, PhD, senior principal engineer at Welch Allyn, and Phil Raymond, wireless architect at Philips Healthcare, offered a number of tips for HTM professionals, who have an increasing role in ensuring the security for wireless networks. The two highlighted some security concepts to embrace, such as using the strongest authentication and encryption possible; avoiding new equipment that compromises the network; segmenting off devices with poor security; and conducting negative testing during qualification.
Several state politicians also recognized the week, including Govs. Nathan Deal (R-GA) and Bill Haslam (R-TN), both of whom signed proclamations honoring HTM professionals. Deal appeared with members of the Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society to pay tribute to HTM professionals.
AAMI also unveiled the winners of AAMI’s Technology Management Council’s Bright Ideas Award—the Clinical Engineering (CE) Department at Archbold Medical Center in Thomasville, GA—and the recipients of the AAMI Foundation’s Michael J. Miller Scholarship, Leslie Carroll and Ed Ryan. All of these winners will be recognized during the AAMI Annual Conference & Expo
The week ended with AAMI announcing the name of the healthcare facility that best celebrated HTM Week 2013. The team at Erlanger Health Systems in Chattanooga, TN, provided a history lesson, setting up a table in the cafeteria to display vintage medical equipment. The team even demonstrated how some of the old equipment worked by bringing certain pieces back into working condition.
Greg Goll, CBET, biomedical supervisor at Erlanger, had used these pieces of equipment at schools to show how students how they worked. Eventually, the equipment started to be recycled for metal. Goll then had an idea. “I started buying some of these pieces to save their history. Because I own them, they can be passed on,” he said.
Posted: 05.29.13