Monday, July 27, 2009

AHRMM09 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Day 4: Yes, it was worth the humidity, the exercise running back and forth and all the words exchanged with vendors, cultivating new friendships and renewing relationships put on hold by distance and business. The highlight of the Buccaneer Bash was definitely the people and the dancing – I think we have an opportunity on the gastronomic side :)

This morning I made new acquaintances while doing my final presentation of the conference. Thanks to all who attended for the comments and insights; it’s nice to know there are others having similar challenges. My final Learning Lab was on the Zen Commute; I saw several many folks I knew including at least five AHRMM Board members listening how to become more mindful and more aware of our paying attention in our daily lives.

AfterBurn – what a great choice for a Closing Session; it was high energy, had concepts that could be readily incorporated into any culture and sent off on our way.

Thank you to all the folks that came up and addressed themselves to me, thank you to new friends, apologies to friends I couldn’t spend more time with but that’s what conferences are all about. Missions accomplished – networking, education, fun and laughter….see you next year in Denver.

AHRMM09 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009

As I prepare for my trip home, I wanted to say what a great conference this was for me as a first-time attendee. One of the last sessions I attended was 'More Best Practices in Materials Management', which really outlined some of the high points for a successful supply chain strategy.

Since this was my first time, I could not gauge what the attendance level was compared to previous years. I am guessing that there may have been a few less attendees after conversations with my peers. I think one of the successes of AHRMM is that the networking and education offered is easily applied into our daily jobs, which really makes the entire span of healthcare a better place. I am glad that the things I've learned and continue to learn in this setting allow me to have a direct impact at my job.

I wanted to say thanks to all of the sponsors, exhibitors, facilitators, and other attendees - everyone working together made this experience worthy of our time. And a special thanks to Tracey Heusner, who let me gab continuously the last few days!

I wish everyone good luck and safe travels - see you next year in Denver!

AHRMM09 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009

I am missing the closing of the conference in order to catch my flight home, so I will give my own closing remarks. (Thanks, no applause, really, thanks . . )

To begin, let me say, what a terrific conference. Benchmarking , evidence based process improvement, if you don't report to your CFO, now is the time to start creating your own report and getting the CFO to notice your contributions, great vendor exhibits, and sharp, informed new contacts are only a portion of what I am taking away with me, back to Cincinnati's Jewish Hospital and our IDN, the Health Alliance. Thank you to the faculty, organizers, vendor sponsors and AHA.

I'm looking forward to AHRMM10 in Denver and may attend whether my hospital pays or not. One of my favorite snippets of information is the ratio of cost of attending to the typical savings in dollars generated by implementing lessons learned: 1:3. Even more exciting is $1 saved in Supply costs can generate overall hospital savings of up to $25. I've got to go now and start implementing, benchmarking, data gathering, report writing . . .

Thanks to Tracey Heusner of AHA. Hope I wasn't to much of a pain. Good luck to all!

AHRMM09 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009

After a full day of supplier exhibit, I noticed the traffic was down a bit as I was working the UHC booth over the lunch hour. I think most folks probably got around to meeting with their suppliers on Monday. I did like the setup for the supplier exhibition because I got to exchange some business cards, and then talk to many reps either at the hotel bar or at the Buccaneer Bash.

Speaking of the Bash, I was happy to see a large turnout. I really didn’t know what to expect since this was my first conference. I was not able to stay for long as my group had dinner reservations, but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

I caught a couple of the morning sessions at the convention center, but took a break in the afternoon to exercise, and catch up on email. I think most of us can relate to full mailbox!
Only half a day left on Wednesday and then it’s back to the real world!

AHRMM09 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Day 3:
Whew, such a whirlwind for a newbie Board member. I thank all the current Board and new friends for their support. We started with Leadership Breakfast where 32 chapters and at least 8 committees were honored for their hardwork and dedication. The diverse efforts of all these individuals truly makes our professional associations stand out..

I attended the Physician panel and was gratified to hear the thoughtful questions by AHRMM attendees and sincere responses by the Physician Panel. Nick Sears did a great job as a moderator. It was also interesting to listen to the input from our Member from the United Kingdom. It was truly gratifying to circulate through the vendor fair. “The vendors were appreciative of all attendees visits and most vowed to return to Denver during the first week of August for AHRMM #48. Then I was off to make my presentation on “You’re the Proud Owner of a Brand New or Slightly Used…. Clinic, Service Line, Physician Practice” followed up by Dave Kaczmarek’s presentation challenging us to be Supply Chain Executives by next year. You’re On Dave….

Now I am off to the pool for some sun and then to the Buccaneer Bash. See you there, Kathi

AHRMM09 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Who else enjoys AHRMM09 for the vendors exhibits? Meeting the reps, listening to them tell your colleagues about wonders that are their products, services, websites, magazines. Even a simple lunch can be educational, or in my case, therapeutic. I like hearing colleagues have similar problems and stresses.

The conference serves an important function just bringing Supply Chain professionals together to chat and interact.

AHRMM09 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009

AHRMM09 Day two

Eight minutes until the fourth Learning Lab at 7:30 am after a fun night of, how shall I say, networking. Very brieflly: New contacts, new vendors, new opportunities, new ideas.

A great openinng by Ross Shafer. Imagine getting your clients, patients, customers, to love you. What a message! The Supply Chain business continues to develop. Beverly Slate says I need to bring my CFO up to speed on what my Distribution Department can do and how we are crucial to saving bucks for the hospital. Two other learning labs and much, uh, networking, . . . later.

AHRMM09 - Monday, July 20, 2009

Day 2 had us up early for a AHRMM Board photo shoot with our illustrious President winning the JJ Award for being in place last! Our keynote speaker, Ross Shafer, of pet store and news anchor fame, was engaging and amusing. Great Thoughts and illustrations to muse on.

I then attended a Learning Lab – Finance and Materials Management Working Together which provided some new avenues for collaboration with our Patient Charge experts. Then it was off to the Vendor Fair; we are so blessed to have vendor partners to support this Conference. A round table interactive session was my final stop. Here AHRMM affiliates and chapter leaders shared ideas on how to become more successful in a sustainable manner. The new Chapter Leader Resource materials were shared and all participants took away new ideas to enable their chapters to better meet their member needs. Please see the Members section of the http://www.ahrmm.org/.

Then we were off to a host of vendor receptions; thanks for the introductions, great company and snacks. See you all in the am!

AHRMM09 - Monday, July 20, 2009

Wow- I hope everyone had as an eventful day as myself. After finally arriving to the hotel at noon, I quickly proceeded to check-in and attend the supplier exhibition.

It was great catching up with some old colleagues and supply partners. The exhibition was impressive and it was a great mix of providers, suppliers, and GPOs. Lunch was also appreciated after rushing from the airport.

While I missed the opening speaker, the feedback was that Ross Shafer did an outstanding job. I did attend some of the educational sessions and they were both standing-room only. This tells me that the topics are very relevant to what's going on in supply chain.

Tonight several of the exhibitors will be hosting receptions and dinners, which I hope you can attend. (I will be with my UHC colleagues and some our members)

So far it looks like this year's AHRMM is off to a great start-looking forward to the days ahead!

AHRMM09 - Sunday, July 19, 2009

Day 1:Not sure where to start since my first blog got lost in the ozone. It has been a whirlwind here as a “ newbie” Board member. Day 1, Board mentor and friend, Liz V, and I got to play golf at the AHRMM golf tournament. All proceeds from the tournament go towards Project Perfect World and their missions to South America – most recently two spine surgeries and approximately 30 orthopedic surgeries. Very inspiring not to mention a little damp as a thunder and lightening storm passed us by. The tournament was well attended by corporate and individual groups of golfers. Hope to see you next year.

Talk about inspiring; it was very reassuring to meet future AHRMM members and attendees at the New Member Reception. All the AHRMM region representatives sounded off and welcomed new attendees. Jay Kirkpatrick averred that the 47th AHRMM conference being held on the 40th Anniversary of the moon landing was going to be exceptional.

The Main reception followed with attendees bustling around sampling hors d’oevres and introducing themselves to new and more recently met friends. In all too short a time, friends and I hustled off to the President’s Reception where key leaders and vendors socialized. This is one of the perks of volunteerism!

It was a busy first day, only a hint of the next day to follow.

AHRMM09 - Sunday, July 19, 2009

Anticipation

The conference is about to begin. I have my schedule of learning labs, my conference bag, and a cup of coffee. The day promises to be filled with new information, ways of doing things, and new names and faces. This has been coming for a long time. I'm full of questions. In these tough times, will my hospital be willing to innovate? Will my organization be open to the advances I'll bring back from this conference? Will I only be able to apply the learing to my own department and the work we do for our 209 bed hospital? Too soon to tell.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

AHRMM09 - Sunday, July 19, 2009


Hello AHRMM attendees,
Welcome to Tampa! While I am actually still in transit, I hope everyone has safe travels. If you are a first time attendee, be sure and attend the New Member Orientation, which starts at 5pm today.
The conference will provide great opportunities for networking, education, and catching up on the latest in healthcare supply chain.
I hope to connect with as many folks as possible. Feel free to contact me claus@uhc.edu.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Introducing James Fothergill

My name is Jim Fothergill. It will be my pleasure to blog as an attendee of AHRMM09. Currently, I am the Manager of Material Distribution for The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati. My materials background began thirteen years ago when I became the Pharmacy Buyer for that same hospital. Prior to that I was a Pharmacy Technician for several years. My current responsibilities include operations management for the medical and surgical supply staff, linen distribution, mailroom operations, and receiving dock operations. Each of these areas includes a bit of IT administration. That brings me to blogging and this opportunity to provide my impressions and observations from this year's conference.

The Director of Supply Chain for our six hospital IDN, The Health Alliance asked me to attend AHRMM09 as a representative. It will be an excellent chance for me to learn from experts and thought leaders who will be presenting the state-of-the-art seminars and other presentations at the conference. Networking and hobnobbing with those same folks along with a plethora of vendors will also be high on my agenda. I have attended a Technology Conference presented by the AHRMM in 2006, in Chicago and took home a great deal of information and learning from it.

If you see me at a seminar or associated event, stop, introduce yourself, and give me some of your impressions.


Monday, July 6, 2009

Introducing Danny Claus

Greetings fellow AHRMM09 attendees!

I wanted to first introduce myself — my name is Danny Claus, and I am from Dallas, TX. I currently work for University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) in a consultative role onsite at Parkland Hospital. My primary job goal is to identify and help implement non-salary cost reduction.

I’ve been working in healthcare supply chain for almost 9 years in various capacities between Novation, VHA, and now UHC. I received my CMRP certification in 2008.

I am looking forward to attending my first AHRMM conference this year and hope to meet other supply chain professionals, as well as catch up with old friends & coworkers. I will be writing about my experiences on the AHRMM blog so please check back.

In addition to networking, I am eager to attend several of the educational tracks that AHRMM offers to expand my supply chain background. I have included AHRMM in my professional development plan, and would also like to get involved with my local chapter.

I hope everyone enjoys a great conference – see you in sunny Florida!

Introducing Kathi Pressley

Hello, this is Kathi Pressley, Director of Materials Management for Olympic Medical Center; we are a medium sized rural facility. Our patient based is 70% for both outpatient activity, significantly contributed to by several outpatient clinics, and government payees. I have worked in the healthcare community for 22 years, uniting paramedic training, business acumen, and growing experience in the healthcare field. I believe in enhancing day to day learning moments and volunteer contributions to our profession. That is why I wanted to “blog”.

I am attending AHRMM09 as a freshman AHRMM Board member, Representing Region 9, essentially the West Coast. I have had great mentors ever since I applied for a scholarship to my first AHRMM meeting almost ten years ago. I want to encourage new members to ARHMM to become more involved; there are many opportunities as members of affiliate professional groups, speakers or simply introducing speakers.

AHRMM09 is a great opportunity to see beyond the demanding focus of your facility to the myriad of changes within our field and meet peers with diversified perspectives.