The Future’s so Bright We’re Going to Need Shades
Roberta Wilson
President, WSHMMA

The annual Spring Conference was another success due to the great work of the WSHMMA Board, the Vendors, the presenters and our members that attended. Without each dedicated person it would not have been possible.

What does dedication to profession mean to you?

To me it means doing the best you can, striving to a higher standard, keeping in tune with the many changes that occur and mentoring others that are new to our profession.  Is this easy to attain and maintain?  No it is not.  Do we always like the changes?  No we do not.

Every day brings new challenges that test us and sometimes put us on the edge.  Yet the professionalism you maintain, in those times, defines the image of what others see and shows the level of professionalism you hold.

As I look to my new position as President, I see many opportunities.
The motto, by Ralph Nader, for my term is:

“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”

We welcome members to become more involved with the board in a variety of areas.  A few of those areas are membership and assisting at the conference.  The time commitment is minimal.  The experience and people you meet priceless.

This chapter maintains the AHRMM GOLD level because of its members and their dedication to the profession.

I challenge each member to continue growing in your profession, work towards taking the certification exam, mentor a new coworker/employee and look at change as a challenge.

After meeting many of you at the conference I feel that our future’s so bright we are going to need shades.  Have a safe and fun summer!

Recognizing Service to WSHMMA & AHRMM

For those of you who were not able to attend this year’s conference, three people were recognized for being long time members of WSHMMA – Bill Knight and Ken Freeman who joined 30 years ago and Garret Sanchez, a member for 25 years.  Each of these individuals has also been a Board member in more than one role. 

Thinking about these friends, I am reminded about another friend of 25 years, Gary Weaver. Unbeknownst to Gary, he was a mentor.   Add great mentor, since I was able to follow in his footsteps as President of WSHMMA many years later. I met Gary while I was a Purchasing Clerk and eventually got to see him receive a life long membership from WSHMMA.

The reason I am sharing is to encourage you to become involved in WSHMMA or ARHMM.  The rewards are great and ongoing bringing value to the individual, their facility and the profession.  I would like to recognize other Board individuals who are also involved in AHRMM committees:

Donna was with AHRMM and then was recruited to join our Board.  Ken also sought AHRMM membership and then was appointed as Treasurer.  We are a healthy organization due to our AHRMM relationship but we need to continue to think about succession – who will follow in our footsteps?  Please join us in volunteering either for an AHRMM committee or WSHMMA.

An Absolutely Great 2008 WSHMMA Conference is Now in our Rearview Mirror-Conference Review

The conference started Wednesday 4/23/08 with the CMRP overview sessions presented by Kathi Jellicoe-Pressley, Shanna Oberbeck and Donna Bean.  We had 15 members attend this session and hope they will be future CMRPs. Conference evaluations suggested that we add some sample questions to each section as a “mock test”.

Next Jeffrey D. Villeux-CFO, Swedish Medical Center, defined for us the expectations of our CFO’s.  He shared tools that will help us in communication and identified areas where Finance and Materials Management can collaborate to provide the greatest ROI.  Conference evaluations stated that Jeffrey had good insight and help make sense of the topic.  They also indicated they would like to have him present at WSHMMA again.

Wednesday evening we had a social time sponsored by Cardinal Health.

Thursday 4/24/08 Kathi gave the president’s welcome and then Jamie Kowalski, Managing Director, Business Development, Owens and Minor, talked to us about optimizing performance in the clinical supply chain.  He discussed many of the day-to-day business challenges we face and some innovative best practice solutions organizations are using for optimization.  Conference evaluations stated that this presentation was very informative and timely and an eye opener.

Thursday was also loaded with inspiration and education on many levels.
 
Teri Louden talked to us about keeping up with the changes in technology, and the new and creative ways the vendors are finding to entice physicians and the public to request and use their products.
 We learned that today’s Materials Managers should to be as informed and knowledgeable as the vendors in reimbursements and government policies, and be able to use that information to meet the expectations of the C suites.

There was a delicious Membership sit-down lunch sponsored by Broadlane.  Members reviewed the goals and accomplishments for 2008/2009.

Mike Schlappi, President, Mike Schlappi Communications and four-time para-olympic medalist on the USA men’s wheelchair basketball team and our Keynote speaker, presented a very inspiring session using humor and motivation to tell his personal story and encourage us to “Create our own future.”  He presented his “bulletproof Principles of Success.”  Conference evaluations stated that his message was very inspirational and lessons learned could be applied to work and at home.

Karen Barrow presented the Impact of Implant Consumer Marketing, asking us if our facilities are prepared. She was very passionate about this subject and talked about putting the appropriate protocols in place to assure new technology does not erode margins.

Last, but definitely not least of our speakers on Thursday, David Kazmarek shared with us tested and applied cost containment and value added initiatives. David is a dynamic speaker and gave us a lot to think about and provided us with some new strategic approaches for success.

At 5:30, the event we all look forward to, the Vendor fair and buffet dinner. A great time for greeting old friends, making new ones, and most importantly, talking to all the vendors who have generously helped us provide this conference for WSHMMA.

Friday was breakfast at 8:00 with election of our new officers: Roberta Wilson assumed the mantle of President, Donna Bean became President-Elect and our new Secretary is Valerie Bailey.

WSHMMA Board 2008

Our solutions forum was a great opportunity to talk to fellow members and share new approaches and successful strategies and some great ideas!

H2E Initiatives-Laura Brannen  gave us some great ideas on how our hospitals can go green and use resources available to help us preserve the environment.

We learned about Disaster Preparedness from Dave Shelley of Owens and Minor.
Dave shared some great strategies on partnering with your distributor and your community in disaster planning and most importantly test, test, and test again the plan you put in place.

We had a very full agenda and a lot of information to digest and take back with us.

Job Opening

Oregon At Large Member for WSHMMA. Must be motivated, flexible, live in Oregon and open to lots of fun!

• Pay Range – Zero
• Educational Opportunities – Endless
• Benefits – Exceptional
• Experience – Priceless

Please submit 1-2 paragraphs about what your current role is and what you feel WSHMMA has done and can do for your profession. Please email interest to: robertawilson@catholichealth.net or robertajwilson@gmail.com.

Review of Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Presentation at WSHMMA Conference

Laura Brannen, our WSHMMA annual conference speaker from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment, more commonly known as H2E, provided more material than can be recycled in a year in terms of “green” action items.

Perhaps most remarkable is the fact that many of us fail to recognize all the little steps we have already taken along the “green highway”.    Take a look below and count up how many projects you have already undertaken.

As you can see, being “Green” is a journey with many small successes.  Take heart and realize how much you can initiate and support from your Supply Chain.  Key principles to consider when undertaking projects include:

• Sustainability of the strategies.
• Value analyses of products and projects that includes total spend from inception to disposal, associated labor costs, and alternatives.
• Selection of products includes consideration of packaging and disposal.
• Ongoing education and participation of all stakeholders – creating a “green culture”.

There seem to be many winning approaches to “green” as regional challenges stimulate local initiatives and individuals demand their healthcare facilities to adopt “green” practices relating to all aspects of healthcare.  Do you have an innovative project? Let us know, as we would be happy to share in our next newsletter.

Did You Ever Wonder What Happens to Past WSHMMA Presidents?

Well we did.  It turns out that some develop a strong affection for motorcycles as in this picture. (Ray Moore and Bill Knight — Past Presidents Gone Easy Rider)