Another first for NDC in the books

A New Hybrid Experience at NDC Exhibition 2021

Another first for NDC in the books

Courtesy of NDC, Inc.

Another “first” for NDC is in the books with the successful completion of the first-ever hybrid NDC Exhibition

2021. NDC was proud to accommodate guests, both virtually and live, providing something for everyone to begin carefully easing back into “normalcy.”

The hybrid Exhibition opened its doors for a Welcome Reception to kick off this year’s show, held onsite at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. While several in-person events were sprinkled in across the three-day Exhibition agenda, all keynotes and education sessions took place virtually, giving attendees the flexibility to experience the 2021 show from an office anywhere.

During the Opening General Session on Tuesday morning, NDC President & CEO, Mark Seitz, delivered supply chain updates, followed by important NDC initiatives discussed by NDC Chief Strategy Officer, Todd Ross, and NDC Chief Commercial Officer, Mark Kline. Linda Rouse O’Neill (HIDA) provided a government update, and attendees were then inspired by former NFL player and ESPN analyst/host, Merril Hoge’s “Find A Way” keynote address.

Later that day, attendees had the opportunity to engage in compelling presentations from two impactful speakers. In “#ChallengeAccepted” with Jen Widerstrom, the former undefeated NBC’s The Biggest Loser coach sat down with NDC’s Ian Fardy to talk everything from career and

Industry titans Mike Carver and Phil Kelsey enjoy a long-awaited live gathering at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel with their spouses.

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how to have fun during this stressful time. Then, with 25 years’ expertise in the healthcare industry, Dr. Wessels shared his best practices, dos & don’ts, methodology and influencing techniques in “Foundations of Distance Selling with Influence.”

NDC proudly honored the unprecedented performances of our distributor and manufacturer partners during 2020. Much like the “Cameos” featured in NDC’s virtual awards ceremony last October, this year’s annual Awards Presentation was hosted by a number of familiar faces off the big screen who NDC found to announce the winners! This star-studded event was followed by a Musical Performance by John Rich, American country music singer and songwriter.

Apart from the numerous virtual business meetings and networking

This year’s “Better Together Celebration” proved to be a hit among NDC Exhibition attendees!

Attendees had fun competing in “Cornhole for a Cause” while raising over $15,000 for American Military Family.

Held outdoors at Gaylord Opryland, attendees raised over $15,000 for American Military Family’s essential cause through entering NDC’s Cornhole for a Cause competition and bidding virtually on unique and exciting silent auction items!

Old friends reunited: Brad Thompson and Midmark’s Chip Fellows and Mark Fisher enjoying a chance to catch up.

sessions available to all attendees, another on-site networking event that proved to be hugely successful was the Better Together Celebration / Military Appreciation Charity Event. Held outdoors at Gaylord Opryland, attendees raised over $15,000 for American Military Family’s essential cause through entering NDC’s Cornhole for a Cause competition and bidding virtually on unique and exciting silent auction items! During the event, on-site attendees enjoyed food and beverages while experiencing an electrifying live performance from AnD, Andrea and Dominique, better known as the musical duo from the 2020 awards presentation.

This year’s Virtual Exhibition Tradeshow made it possible for distributors to circulate and connect with exhibiting manufacturers, many of whom had proactively scheduled Zoom business meetings to augment the exhibit experience. Following a full day of networking on the tradeshow floor, the event wrapped up on Wednesday afternoon with a warm and lively SimPow Send-Off at Broadway’s Redneck Riviera.

Initial feedback from the firstever hybrid NDC Exhibition indicates the event benefitted all in attendance. The virtual platform allowed distant distributors and suppliers to reconnect while the in-person events brought a feeling of normalcy back to networking. Rather than bask in the success, word is, the NDC team is already hard at work planning to top this year’s Exhibition in 2022.

Above all, NDC is grateful for the continued participation of their valued distributor and vendor partners and hopeful that this year’s hybrid experience offered attendees opportunities to create meaningful connections with fellow healthcare supply chain industry leaders.

GeneXpert Xpress

A one-stop shop for rapid diagnosis of Flu A, Flu B, RSV and SARS-CoV-2

Never in the history of laboratory medicine has there been so much emphasis on diagnostic testing. “When I think

about testing during the past year, the image that comes to mind is cars lined up for a couple of miles for drivers and passengers to get a nasal swab to know whether or not they’re infected with COVID-19,” said Dr. Fred Tenover, vice president of scientific affairs for Cepheid, a molecular diagnostics company based in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Cepheid received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for its 4-plex SARS-CoV-2, Flu A, Flu B and RSV combination test. This assay is offered in Cepheid’s GeneXpert Xpress System. It offers actionable detection and on-demand results with one sample collection. It optimizes the GeneXpert System module capacity by combining two Xpress tests into one.

It’s important for hospitals, urgent care and physician offices to detect and differentiate between flu, RSV and COVID-19, which all present with similar symptoms. Current flu and SARS-CoV-2 therapies need definitive diagnosis for each pathogen. This differentiation identifies potential cases of co-infection during respiratory season and provides risk assessment for patients and staff while resuming traditional healthcare procedures.

“We didn’t have a flu season this year probably due to social distancing and mask wearing and not seeing as much transmission,” Dr. Tenover said. “But as people start to congregate again and take the masks off, and kids start going back to school, the CDC is predicting that this next flu season could be a bad one. So, you really need to know that your test is going to pick up flu as well as COVID and the differentiation between the two.”

“The Cepheid test produces a fast and highly accurate answer,” Dr. Tenover continued. “It is standardized across all venues, including the central lab and near patient testing sites. The point-of-care (POC) assay is the same assay found in academic medical centers, the national reference laboratory and in mid-sized hospitals.”

This empowers patients with rapid results and assists hospitals, urgent care centers and physician offices to effectively manage limited resources. It provides labs with singletest confidence to accelerate workflows and support clinicians with ondemand, timely and accurate results.

“The value of the GeneXpert Xpress System comes in ease of use and a high degree of accuracy,” Dr. Tenover said. “Anyone can use this. It’s no more difficult than using a Keurig coffee maker.”

“SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus and RNA viruses always mutate. We expect them to. They have the ability to cause more infections, be more severe and in some cases, evade vaccines,” Dr. Tenover continued. “But all of these viruses are detected by the Cepheid assay. None of the emerging mutant strains are escaping detection.”