11 minute read
IMCO celebrates 40 years at its 2021 Annual Conference and Trade Show
from REP Dec 21
Rooted in Independents
IMCO celebrates 40 years at its 2021 Annual Conference and Trade Show
Bill McLaughlin, president and CEO opening speech.
With a theme of “Rooted in Inde-
pendents,” IMCO held its 2021 Annual Conference and Trade Show this September at the Hilton Beachfront in Daytona Beach, Florida. “Our members’ roots as independent distributors keep them grounded, connected with their customers, and strong in the industry,” said Bill McLaughlin, president and CEO. “This is what makes independent distributors unique and a key part of their customers’ business, especially during uncertain times we have all faced over the last 18+ months. IMCO is honored and humbled to be an extension of our members, helping them in many facets of their business to adapt, change, and manage anything that comes their way.”
IMCO was excited to celebrate its 40th anniversary at the show with so many of its members and partners in attendance. IMCO brought on 10 new member distributors and 14 new vendor partners this past year. IMCO’s exclusive SEL (Sales Emphasis Line) preferred vendor program continues to be a success, with the 18 participating vendor partners. “Additional support and new programs have been added to help differentiate IMCO members in the marketplace with our SEL vendors,” said McLaughlin. “We now have a robust eCommerce platform and social marketing multi-level offering to advance our members’ reach and capabilities in this growing segment of the market.”
IMCO’s member-only website has been completely overhauled and updated. IMCO has upgraded the functionality, the look, and made it
even more user friendly. It is now 100% mobile-friendly for sales teams to use anywhere. In addition, IMCO added a new GPO support program that provides hands-on personalized service for the Vizient family of companies. This service offering also brings IMCO-approved distributors new med/surg GPO end user registrations, contract access, manufacturer tier verification and/or activation along with a robust portfolio of business resources that helps the distributor reduce its operational costs.
IMCO’s key initiative for 2022 is to continue adding new distributor members as the demand for services continues to grow amongst independent distributors. IMCO also continues to strategically add new vendors/ product lines to broaden its portfolio to provide new and advanced products that focus on the patient, McLaughlin said. “As telemedicine continues to grow due to COVID, we are adding opportunities around telemedicine devices and connectivity,” he said.
“We have put a renewed emphasis on all our partnerships because one of the biggest things learned from the last 18+ months is how crucial these are. As the market continues to change and adjust with COVID’s far-reaching impacts, communication and collaboration remain more important than ever before.”
With remote workers remaining a part of the new office landscape, online sales training and education remains very important to IMCO members. IMCO continues to host its Pathway to Profit series every other Wednesday to educate members on a featured vendor and their products, informing and teaching them how to sell the unique benefits of their products.
With points of care shifting, Home Care continues to become a larger part of healthcare. McLaughlin said IMCO is continuing to grow and build its IMCO Home Care (IHC) GPO to provide the best products and prices for its IHC Members.
The educational sessions this year were designed to provide immediate and impactful takeaways that members could apply in their own businesses. In addition, IMCO increased the number of member roundtable networking sessions.
Keynote speaker Troy Hazard discussed “Future Proofing your Business” based on his experience and knowledge over the last 18 months in multiple industries. Hazard spoke with many IMCO members and vendors before the show to better understand what they have been challenged with over the last 18 months and what they learned during the process.
Vanguard Intl Greg Sword best booth winner. Sempermed vendor of the year.
New member D&&H medical and new supplier InSpec Solutions with Bill and Ashleigh. Pocket Nurse costume winners.
Everyone enjoyed the Monday night event.
The Sunday breakouts began with Gunter Wessels, Ph.D., of Liquid Smarts on “Accelerating Market Adoption” – driving relevance in the market today. The Owners’ Roundtable session, led by Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting and Bill McLaughlin of IMCO, was a lively and interactive session with numerous member owners sharing their insights from the last 18 months where COVID has and continues to create issues.
On Monday, IMCO kicked off the speakers with 6 TED Talk-type sessions with industry experts:
Bill and Ashleigh McLaughlin.
ʯ Gunter Wessels, Ph.D.
Liquid Smarts – Be Relevant ʯ Jan Lehman,
CTC Productivity –
Outside the Box Time Management ʯ Scott Adams,
Share Moving Media –
Future of Medical Distribution ʯ Mike Marks,
Indian River Consulting –
Understanding the Forces of Change ʯ Kevin Manley,
IMCO – Develop an Engaging
B2B Digital Marketing Strategy ʯ Eric Papp,
Agape Leadership –
Sales Time System
These 10-minute sessions set the stage for the longer breakout sessions later that morning.
Eric Papp of Agape Leadership brought down the house with his lively and entertaining session on “Laser Focused Selling”. Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting Group presented to a packed room about “Understanding the Forces of Change and How They Impact your Future Choices” in his unique and very informative way. Jan Lehman of CTC Productivity provided an enlightening session on how to “Eliminate Time Wasters and Increase Productivity”. The day ended with Linda Rouse-O’Neil of
HIDA providing an in-depth governmental and regulatory update on programs currently affecting our healthcare system.
During the tradeshow, product showcases, featuring IMCO SEL and EPIC vendors, provided an additional opportunity for these important vendor partners. where they provided product information and selling strategies to be utilized by attendees when addressing customer issues.
Also during the convention, Bob Miller of Gericare Medical Supply from Monroeville, Alabama, was added to the IMCO Board of Directors. He brings his years of experience from both the vendor side early in his career as well as his wealth of knowledge on the distribution side.
A lot to celebrate
Monday evening everyone enjoyed the meal and activities out on the hotel patio and lawn as members and vendors competed in a variety of tailgate-type games. The beach was steps away, and many enjoyed conversations while listening to the waves come right up to the sea wall. Tuesday evening was the 40th anniversary celebration and ’80s extravaganza. “It was an honor to recognize our long-time members,” said McLaughlin. “This shows not only the strength of our group, but the power of true partnership.” Indeed, many members and vendors have been partners for 10, 20, and even 30 plus years. Individuals as well as teams of members and vendors showed up dressed in their favorite 80s attire. The best costume award went to the team at Pocket Nurse. The night was capped off with a drawing for two $3,000 travel vouchers. The member winner was Larry Wenthe of Shared Service Systems, and the vendor winner was of Zach Querci of Busse Hospital Disposables.
Overall, the convention was an incredible hit. “Members and vendors alike were fired up to be at an in-person meeting again and were all ready for a great meeting, and they got it!” said McLaughlin. “Based on the surveys and feedback so far, the show was one of the best-ever! Thank you again to all our vendor partners and sponsors for supporting this incredible show that is dedicated to all our independent distributor members for 40 years and counting!”
Award-winners
IMCO’s Equipment Performance Incentive Contest EPIC) is a year-long equipment selling contest in which members sell 10 key vendor lines of products and earn points based on sales orders and vendor interactions through the year. The top 10 point-earners were recognized at the convention and over $25,000 in travel vouchers were awarded.
The top 10 EPIC Sales Performers from 2020 are:
ʯ10th Marie Rabin CARA Medical ʯ 9th Ricky Bustamante American Medical Supplies & Equipment ʯ 8th David Ellis Atlantic Medical Solutions ʯ 7th Kristina Pacheco Canada Medical Supplies ʯ 6th Kevin Giles Shared Service Systems ʯ 5th David Gordon Unimed USA ʯ 4th Sanjay Shah AMSCO ʯ 3rd Lawrence Franchetti One Beat Medical ʯ 2nd Angi Muse Booth Medical ʯ 1st Victor Amat American Medical Supplies & Equipment
Participating vendors experienced a 20% increase in total sales over the prior year! Congratulations to all our EPIC winners.
The best booth award went to Vanguard International as Greg Sword captured the show theme with an ’80s nostalgia focused booth that featured a relaxed living room type feel with numerous ’80s devices and pictures depicting a decade of past booths.
Sempermed USA was announced as IMCO’s 2020 Vendor of the Year. They were voted by IMCO members as the top vendor partner in 2020 for their proven quality products, customer support, outstanding communication, and overall support of IMCO and its members.
Same-day PCR test is vital for independent clinic testing for multiple respiratory illnesses
When COVID-19 hit Columbus, Georgia, and the surrounding area in early 2020, Acute Care Emergence was one
of only two places in the community testing for it. Terri Jordan, CEO, PA-C of Acute Care Emergence, said the independent clinic hasn’t had to close since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We were testing over 300 people a day,” Jordan said. “We weren’t set up for that, but we did it because we knew there weren’t other options for them.”
Now the independent clinic has swabbed close to an estimated 70,000 people. Its duty has included testing the general population, companies in Georgia and Alabama, and soldiers at nearby Fort Benning.
Cepheid’s Xpert ® Xpress CoV-2/ Flu/RSV plus – a PCR test – has been a game changer for Acute Care Emergence. It detects and differentiates between three distinct respiratory illnesses with four targets.1 That’s extremely important in this heightened respiratory season as people return to larger gatherings and other respiratory illnesses like flu and RSV emerge along with COVID-19. Cepheid’s 4-plex plus same-day testing allows same-day treatment for these respiratory illnesses.1
“Having a combination test like Cepheid’s 4-plex plus is incredible,” Jordan proclaimed. “We’ve been the leader in the community on testing for COVID-19 and we’ve had people come from five to six hours away to be tested and treated. We want our testing to be accurate. Cepheid’s Xpert ® Xpress CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus gives us the ability to confirm, on the same day, whether someone has COVID-19, flu, or RSV.”
Jordan explained that the Delta variant led to a higher percentage of false negatives in antigen testing, but having access to Cepheid’s Xpert® Xpress CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus PCR test allowed for stronger confirmation and early treatment. “And those who have come from far away to be tested don’t have to come back,” she said. “We can also begin the correct treatment. For example, I had an elderly patient come in really sick and I thought she would have COVID-19. But she came back positive for RSV. So that changed the game.”
Swabbing upwards of 70,000 people has taught the staff at Acute Care Emergence a little bit of everything about diagnostic testing and the accuracy between antigen and PCR testing.
“PCR testing is the gold standard,” Jordan said. “For example, our flu and COVID-19 combination antigen tests would give us positive for flu, which I thought was odd. A mother and daughter came in pretty sick, and I thought they would have COVID-19, but one came back positive for COVID-19 and Flu A and the other one came back positive for Flu B on the antigen. That was odd. So, I ran the Cepheid 4-plex plus PCR and neither had flu, but both had COVID-19.”
Acute Care Emergence has been successful keeping patients out of the hospital during the pandemic. Jordan credited running Cepheid’s Xpert ® Xpress CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus in helping to confirm diagnoses. “That way, we don’t send them back into the community to possibly infect others,” she said. “And if we can treat patients within the first three or four days of their symptoms, we can almost guarantee they’ll recover and not be admitted to the hospital.”
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* This test has not been FDA cleared or approved; this test has been authorized by FDA under an EUA for use by authorized laboratories; this test has been authorized only for the simultaneous qualitative detection and differentiation of nucleic acids from SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, influenza B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and not for any other viruses or pathogens; and this test is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostic tests for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.
