VAHRMM.org
President's Message
President's Message
Dictionary.com* defines the word “Tool” as follows:
– noun
1. an implement, esp. one held in the hand, as a hammer, saw, or file, for performing or facilitating mechanical operations.
2. any instrument of manual operation.
3. the cutting or machining part of a lathe, planer, drill, or similar machine.
4. the machine itself; a machine tool.
5. anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose: Education is a tool for success.
Definition number five strikes me particularly because of the stated example……….. “Education is a tool for success.” As we prepare for our 25th Annual VAHRMM Conference, I can’t help but feel that this simple sentence from an on-line dictionary is especially poignant because our ultimate goal is the education of our members.
As VAHRMM President, I find myself striving to find ways to increase the role, responsibility, and recognition of Materials Management as an integral part of the healthcare industry.
 We’ve all heard of the “Healthcare Crisis” especially now, with a presidential election just around the corner. We’re all well aware that the first Baby Boomers have now turned 65. Each one of us deals with the ever increasing gas prices and if you haven’t heard of the changes in Medicare with their Pay for Performance program and Recovery Audit Committees, you will. What this means for us in Materials Management is that there will be more pressure placed on us than ever before as our facilities look for ways to reduce and/or contain supply costs as a means to combat these economic challenges. How has this pressure come at us in the past? A department head meets with a new vendor who offers savings by converting to their product and then sends the rep to meet with Materials Management to establish a timeline for conversion? Corporate hires a consulting firm to come in, analyze purchasing data, and identify a savings target that we must then meet? Accounting takes the proposed supply budget and reduces it by X% and we have to “make it work”? A combination of all three? I’m sure there are many other examples that we’ve all experienced, but the one constant theme is that Materials Management is historically at the tail end of the process instead of the beginning.
For far too long, Materials Management has been looked upon as the “Warehouse Department” or the “Order Processing Department”. While these are both vital functions within our operations, they do not begin to encompass our overall duties and responsibilities to our facilities. My goal as President of VAHRMM is to elevate Materials Management in the eyes of corporate and facility leadership to the more appropriate designation of “Supply Chain Experts” with the end result of our becoming the first step in the cost containment process rather than the last.
To accomplish this goal, we on the VAHRMM board are committed to equipping our membership with the tools necessary to truly become experts in our field. Not only through industry specific education such as “Emerging Technologies….” and “Dealing with Physician Preference”, but also through leadership and personal growth training like “Refueling the Fire Within” and “How to Succeed at Almost Anything….” These sessions, along with others on the agenda for our 25th Annual Conference, will equip all of us with the tools necessary to increase our standing as knowledgeable industry experts and as leaders in our organizations.
Please join us this year at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel in November as we celebrate VAHRMM’s 25th anniversary and we present you with the tools needed to grow both professionally and personally.
I hope to see you all there!
Sincerely,
 J. Scott Venable
VAHRMM President
* "tool." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 13 Aug. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tool>.
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