V.B.A. NEWS - July 1999

President’s Note:

As I travel the state and meet with Biomedical professionals everyday, I encounter an overwhelming desire by technicians and managers to know how other biomedical personnel and departments are handling everyday problems. Whether it is dealing with restricted budgets, justifying additional FTE¹s, researching Y2K issues, interfacing with information systems (IS/MIS) departments, bench marking or training issues, it is difficult for biomedical personnel to interface personally with others in the field.

Sure, the internet brings us virtualcommunication with biomedical listserves and web sites, but when do we in the biomedical field have an opportunity to network and casually discuss issues of concern with compatriots from around the Commonwealth? The opportunity presents itself September 8th -10th in Williamsburg, Virginia. (see details enclosed) We have orchestrated two full days of education and keynote addresses from Ode Keil and Joe McClain to get the gray matter humming. The Annual Meeting is a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes for the VBA Board but it is the essence of the VBA¹s mission- to provide educational opportunities.

In conjunction with our EDCOMM (Education and Communication for Members) theme, the VBA strives to offer its members valuable return on its dues. Take advantage of this event! We look forward to seeing you in Williamsburg. Come see old friends and meet new ones and maybe even play a round of golf.

Enjoy reading this edition of the VBA News.
Al Strickler

At the ‘99 winter meeting in Wintergreen, Va discussions were opened w/ Chris Disseinger, NCBA Preesident concerning some interactivity with the NCBA (North Carolina Biomedical Association). In their (NCBA) newsletter they printed a brief History of the VBA so their members could see a little of what we’re about. I thought I would reciprocate and do the same for VBA members. So here (reprinted from their webpage) is:

NCBA History

The North Carolina Biomedical Association originated in the late 1970’s when a group of BMETs were invited to meet at the Area Health Education Center in the Wake County Medical Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. This original group of individuals established the foundations and guiding principles, which have made the North Carolina Biomedical Association the superlative organization that it is today. The By-Laws formulated by this group established the principal objective of “advancing the development of personnel involved in the selection, operation, repair and support of biomedical instrumentation of Health Care Institutions.”

The evening of November 5, 1980 was an historic time for the N.C.B.A. After months of hard work and planning, the North Carolina Biomedical Association elected it’s first Board of Directors. Out of this group of ten dedicated individuals came the Association’s officers:

President:Patrick K. Lynch, CBET Carolinas Hospital Engineering Support Services (CHESS) Charlotte Memorial Hospital, Charlotte,NC

Vice President:W. Glenn Scales, CBET Biomedical Equipment Rental & Sales, Inc.

Secretary:Wes Cormac Moore Memorial Hospital, Pinehurst, NC

Treasurer:Eddy G. Whisnant Physio Control Corp., Raleigh, NC

Directors:

Jim Downing -Wilson Memorial Hospital, Wilson, NC

Frank Forrest, CBET -Memorial Hospital of Alamance County, Burlington, NC

Dave Curry -Grace Hospital, Morganton, NC

Dr. J.C. Boone -Stanly Technical College, Albemarle, NC

Clint Crites, CBET -Carolinas Hospital Engineering Support Services (CHESS) N.C. Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, NC

Bob Strickland, R.H.Ed. -Area Health Education Center, Raleigh, NC

During the next six months, all the members of the Board of Directors were following up on various assigned tasks associated with further developing this newly established organization. On June 21, 1981 the first N.C.B. A. Newsletter was published. Membership packets, including the recently adopted By- Laws, were distributed to the 43 members of the N.C.B.A. Membership certificates were selected and printed, a logo design was selected and lapel pins were designed and ordered.

Although the organization was still in a “start-up phase”, the educational needs of the membership were still the primary focus. Even though the N.C.B.A. did not quite exactly exist at this point, the founding members had already put on two annual symposiums. The Third Annual Symposium was scheduled for November 12 & 13, 1981 at the Jane S. McKimmon Center on the North Carolina State University campus. Topics presented at this Symposium included Blood Pressure Monitoring, Infusion Pumps & Controllers and P.M. / Safety Documentation.

As a part of the Third Annual Symposium, Board of Directors elections were held and a fresh crop of Directors were selected for two year terms. The original terms were staggered so that half of the Board’s term of office would expire each year. Newly elected members of the Board of Directors were Lane Rushing, Richard Zang, Virgil Smoot and Dale Crum. This process of a staggered Board rotation was one of the original founding doctrines of the N.C.B.A. Soon thereafter, Lane Rushing accepted a job with Physio Control and had to move to Washington, DC. Paul Stroud, CBET at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh was appointed to replace Lane.

On August 10, 1981, the Department of Secretary of State of the State of North Carolina issued the Articles of Incorporation to the N.C.B.A. thanks to the considerable efforts of Frank Forrest and his wife, Nancy. This was the first step in the process of establishing the N.C.B.A. as a non-profit corporation, legally recognized by the State of North Carolina. One of the more historic events in the history of the North Carolina Biomedical Association occurred on Thursday, October 14, 1982 at the Raleigh Hilton Hotel.

The Fourth Annual Symposium saw the introduction of the Pig Pickin’. This most popular of all N.C.B.A. events was sponsored by Andover Medical and Dave Curry and Clint Crites served as the chefs for this inaugural event. By this time the N.C.B.A. membership had grown to almost 200 and the Annual Symposiums were “the” event for BMETs in North Carolina. Each year throughout the long history of the North Carolina Biomedical Association, people come and go and a review of the history of the NCBA shows a long and dedicated commitment from within the membership to furthering the goals established back in 1979. Literally hundreds of individuals, hospitals and corporations have worked behind the scenes to help the N.C.B.A. become what it is today — the finest regional organization representing the interests of Biomedical Equipment Technicians and Clinical Engineers.

Editor’s note: Due to space constraints some formatting changes were made. However , content was not altered in any way. Visit the NCBA’s website at: “www.anesthesia.mc.duke.edu/ncba” for the original story and additional information concerning the NCBA

Virginia Biomedical Association
Annual Meeting - Beyond year 2000
Williamsburg, VA. Marriott September 8-10, 1999

EVENT SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Sept 8th
12:00a – 6:00p - Golf Tournament
6:00p – 8:00p - Registration desk open (for attendees and exhibits)
5:00p – 8:00p - Exhibitor Set-up
7:00p – 9:00p - Board meeting – Hospitality room
9:00p – 11:00p - Hospitality Suite open

Thursday, Sept 9th
7:00a – 5:00p - Registration
7:00a – 8:00a - Exhibitor set-up
8:00a – 9:00a - Keynote Address – ODE Keil – V.P. Safety Management Services – Beyond Year 2000”
9:00a – 10:30a - Exhibit Hall open
10:30a – 12:30p - Erbe-An ESU to enhance patient outcomes–Jim Muehleisen
10:30a – 12:30p - H.P. Code Master Defib. Class - HP Instructor
12:30p – 2:00p - Lunch/Membership/Elections – In exhibit area
2:00p – 4:00p - H.P. continued
2:00p – 5:00p - JCAHO/NFPA update – ODE Keil
5:00p – 7:00p - Cocktails in Exhibit Hall
8:30p – 11:00p - Hospitality Suite open

Friday, Sept 10th
7:00a – 10:00a - Registration
8:00a – 9:00a - Keynote Address – Dr. Joseph McClain “Challenges of the 21st Century”
9:15a – 10:30a - Exhibit Hall open - Elections concluded
10:30a – 12:30p - Managers Roundtable – Moderator Bruce Jones “IS/Biomed Relationship – Changes Beyond year 2000”
10:30a – 12:30p - Class-Fundamentals of X-ray – Manny Roman-DITEC
10:30a – 12:30p - Class Networking – Marquette
2:00p – 4:00p - X-ray continued
2:00p – 4:00p - Networking continued
2:00p – 3:30p - Managers Roundtable – Moderator Lee Gilley “Expanding Biomedical Services”

# Schedule at press time-subject to minor changes

vabiomed.org

The VBA Website is continually changing and being updated to provide you with the most up-to- date happenings and to make it easier for you to participate in and contribute your ideas. After all it is your organization. The more you input to it the better it is for all. These email addresses will remain constant no matter who is filling the position as time goes by.

membership@vabiomed.org   --   James Anderson (janderso@medicorpihn.com)
newsletter@vabiomed.org   --   Lee Gilley (lee.gilley@centrahealth.com)
president@vabiomed.org   --   Al Strickler (strickler@erols.com)
vice-president@vabiomed.org   --   Virgil Smoot (vsmoot@chkd.com)
secretary@vabiomed.org   --   Brian Blackwell (brian.blackwell@centrahealth.com)
treasurer@vabiomed.org   --   Rick Davis (radavisiii@aol.com)
webmaster@vabiomed.org   --   Mark Freeman (mfreeman@greatbridge.net)

There is also a separate mailbox for the on-line membership application:
membership-app@vabiomed.org   --   James Anderson (janderso@medicorpihn.com)

Expert Network (ExNet)

ExNet is a database that lists the various expertises of VBA members and affiliates including their E-Mail address. If you want to find out the latest and greatest on any given subject, you search ExNet and contact the "expert". The idea spawned from a conversation with Al Strickler and Michael Reichenbach on ways to best serve VBA members.

ExNet is based on the notion that we are stronger as a group than as individuals. Collectively, there is an enormous body of knowledge and experience among our ranks. We each have areas of expertise and unique experience. ExNet is a handy reference about whom to contact in this fast-changing world of technology. ExNet is also based on the premise that no one can possibly know everything (except Dads of course).

At the last fall meeting of VBA, we asked attendees to enter a few words on our laptop. Soon we had 25 experts identified with a broad base of expertise ranging from specialty scopes, repair, imaging, safety, etc. The broad base of knowledge and experience in our group was truly amazing. People generally don't consider themselves to be "experts". Yet, everyone has considerable information about something and may be regarded as an expert by someone else.

The more ExNet grows, the more useful it becomes. Imagine sitting in your office wondering who can possibly help you solve a particular problem. Perhaps you need some practical, honest information about how well something really works, or you can't make a decision about which device to buy, for example. Network with those that know.

Accessing ExNet
ExNet is presently in a MSWorks database format. When ExNet contains 100 names, we will make the database available on diskette. Plans are to include it in our Web Site as soon as possible. So help out and provide the following information and be a founding member of what can possibly be an extremely valuable tool for Biomeds, Clinical Engineers, and Supporters. There is no limit to the size of our network.

If you would like to be listed, please complete and return the following simple questionnaire. ExNet is intended as an information source; not for solicitation purposes.

Name: ________________________

E-mail: ________________________

Areas of Technical Expertise (list a few key words):

1.

2.

3.

4.

Fax to: Gerhard at (919) 481-3436
or e-mail: CompMS@AOL.com

We plan to continue gathering data for ExNet at the Fall meeting.
Gerhard Gschwandtner