AAMI's HTM Leadership Award

This award recognizes individual excellence, achievement, and leadership in the healthcare technology management (HTM) profession.

Candidates must demonstrate:

• An extensive record of leadership and accomplishment in the healthcare technology management field.
• Significant contributions to an important issue or issues facing the profession.
• Leadership in promoting the positive attributes of the profession—for example, improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, and improving the use and impact of technology.
• Leadership and a professional commitment to the field by writing articles for industry publications, participating in committees, and speaking at industry events.
  

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Leadership in promoting the profession to the C-Suite, clinicians, prospective students, and other professionals in the healthcare field.
• Evidence of HTM leadership and excellence at the workplace through, for example, contributions to management improvements; patient care; cost savings, or improvements in the use or impact of technology.
• Leadership in national, state, or local HTM organizations.
• Involvement in a standards development process (such as AAMI, NFPA, JCR standards) or an individual’s own organization.
• Substantial contributions to AAMI.
  

Nominators may submit evidence of additional types of activities relevant to this award and to the candidate’s achievements. The award includes a $2,500 check and a plaque to be presented at the 2020 AAMI Exchange in New Orleans, LA.

For more information, contact awards@aami.org.

2020 Recipient

Kurt Finke, director, Office of HTM with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Eagan, MN

This award, which honors individual excellence, achievement, and leadership in the HTM field, will be presented to Kurt Finke for his commitment to ensuring that HTM professionals not only add value to their organizations but are recognized for that value.

Finke has been in the HTM field for 35 years, leading the Department of Veterans’ Affairs clinical engineering program through many changes. He has oversight and management of $6.5 billion worth of medical technology across 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks. He was chosen as the Veterans’ Affairs Biomedical Engineer of the Year in 2011 and received the American College of Clinical Engineering Professional Achievement in Management Award in 2012.

“I’m honored and humbled to be recognized with this award. My achievements reflect a supremely talented and dedicated group of 1,500 HTM professionals in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Finke. “This collective team contributes daily to the provision of high-quality healthcare to our Veterans. In additional to the privilege of working alongside other VA HTM professionals, I’ve had opportunity to collaborate with many outstanding persons who are committed to advancing the profession.”