Executive War College: Be There
For those of you on the fence as to whether or not to go the Executive War College’s April 27–28 conference in New Orleans … well, don’t fall off on the wrong side of that fence. This one promises to be more important than ever, for a few primary – and critical – reasons.
Get Back in the Game (IRL!)
First and foremost, it’s just been too long since we’ve interfaced with colleagues face-to-face. The 2020 event was cancelled; they had a meeting in November that we sponsored, but like many others, we didn’t attend. And now, for us and for many of our best and brightest, absence makes the heart grow fonder. How fond are we? We are bringing our A-Team: Bryan Firestone, Robert Negosian, Mike Pratt, Keri Thomson, Diane Winnemuller, and one of our executive consultant/VCIO specialists, Lee Barnard. We’re ready to reconnect with the leaders of our industry, and are all looking forward to seeing old friends and learning about any new, emerging needs.
Get Up to Speed
Our lab industry has gone through a monumental paradigm shift in the last few years. The influx of COVID-related labs and how they are forward-facing to the consumer market has brought in many new players. This is a chance to sit down with those who arrived at this business because of COVID, and to exchange ideas and support on how to pivot into a universal business model that will offer opportunities for growth. This event is called, after all, a “college!”
Solve Resource Challenges
No doubt the topic of “the great resignation” will be a hot topic in sessions and at the informal meet and greets. Like many other industries, labs have been hit by the exodus of workers; but unlike a fast-food restaurant, we can’t just cut our hours or menu items. For U.S. HealthTek specifically, this is our opportunity to meet with labs who are experiencing a shortage of people and see how our staff augmentation solutions could get them through what is likely going to be an ongoing challenge for the next couple of years. We offer a bridge – through through expert resources, programs, and tools – that provides ways to keep a lab’s IT projects running efficiently and effectively during the staffing gaps that so many are experiencing now.
Keep Current
The speakers lined up are exceptional, and there are quite a few workshops I’m looking forward to. “How COVID-19 Has Changed Valuation and Deal Terms of Labs in the Past 30 Months” with attorney Richard Cooper and Haverford Healthcare Advisors’ Chris Jahnle will be an especially interesting one for any executive with an eye on her bottom line. It’s followed by a Breakout Session called “Small Lab Sites, Big Patient Impact!” from United Indian Health Services’ lab manager Kristie Madden that could be an eye-opener in terms of lab scalability and efficiency.
Another must-attend session is “Achieving the Patient/Consumer-Centric Lab” from Mayo Clinic’s Jane Hermanesen. In the past, patients thought doctors did everything, and here we are today, watching patients take a more active role in their health care and bypassing doctors’ offices to go directly to labs for their testing needs. That genie is not going back into the bottle, so what does it mean for our industry? Meet us there and let’s talk about some ideas and solutions.
Another topic is one that was a headliner at last month’s American Clinical Laboratory Association’s annual meeting, which is the political side of our industry (we wrote about it in last month’s blog) and how it can dramatically impact our business. The pandemic has resulted in the general public having a much better understanding of the importance of labs in their overall personal health journey. We served the public well during that crisis, and preparations are already underway for the inevitability of future public health crises. This is our chance to discuss in person our options and plans for serving the public and how our political leaders can help support those efforts.
Just like in 2019, U.S. HealthTek will once again sponsor the Grand Reception. Be sure to stop by to say hi!
The In-Person Advantage
As if all these points weren’t enough, there are other very practical reasons to come to New Orleans for this meeting. Learn about new sources of revenue, cutting costs, about the latest state-of-the-art diagnostic services, and — as I’ve already mentioned — about identify new needs. And not enough can be said about the importance of networking. We’re already setting up meetings with clients and identifying key advisors and consultants so we can continue to widen our talent pool. (We’d love to plan on meeting with you – contact us!) It’s always the spontaneous moments, that unplanned meeting, that serendipitous conversation, that end up being the most valuable. Oh – and I have mentioned it’s in New Orleans? That’s always a good time!
Let’s Meet, Let’s Talk
So come learn the latest and greatest advancements and trends happening in our ever-evolving lab industry. We are once again a sponsor because we believe that this meeting of senior lab executives, administrators, and pathologists deserves our support now more than ever. So get off that fence, register for the event, and please reach out to us for even a quick meet-and-greet – we’d love to see you in person, and there is much for us to talk about.