The AHRMM annual conference and exhibition is taking place August 6-9, in Orlando Florida. In preparation for the big event, HealthCare Business News sat down with Laura P. Kowalczyk, the AHRMM Advisory Board Chair, to find out what hospital supply chain stakeholders can expect at the event. Here is our conversation with Kowalczyk, who is also the vice president of Supply Chain and Support Services at UAB Medicine.

HCB News: Who or what inspired you to follow a career in health care?
Laura P. Kowalczyk: I entered the health care field as a health lawyer. Representing hospitals and clinical personnel provided a broad level of exposure to the health care field. I was fortunate to enter into the internal hospital environment early in my career, which eventually led to taking on more operational experience and roles that led me into my current role.

HCB News: Can you tell us about your history with the AHRMM and why you first joined?
LK: I have been an AHRMM member for 18 years, and have served on the AHRMM Advisory Board for the last 4 years. As someone who did not start or grow up in the supply chain, AHRMM has served as a critical component of my supply chain career development. One of my early mentors in the supply chain was leader of the AHRMM Advisory Board at the time I entered the hospital supply chain, and he encouraged me very early in my career to join AHRMM. It has proved invaluable to my professional growth, and the development of relationships across the field.

HCB News: What did that journey look like, from joining AHRMM to taking on your current leadership role?
LK: The journey has been a challenging but a fun, wild ride. The connections and relationships that I have acquired throughout my years of participation have been critically important to my knowledge growth and development as a supply chain leader. Similarly, exposing my teams along the way to similar networking and education has helped us grow together through sharing our practices and learning from others.

HCB News: Are we seeing any long term impact, or improvements, to supply chain management going forward from the pandemic?
LK: Absolutely. I think we all feel the heightened recognition at the top of our organizations for the importance and contribution of the supply chain to the care of our patients and customers. There is also a concerted and organized effort among all trading partners in the health care supply chain to collaborate and share information and data recognizing that true resiliency cannot be achieved without transparency and trust. In addition, across all supply chains we cannot deny that the just-in-time (JIT) inventory model so many industries, including health care, moved to many years ago is being questioned if not completely re-tooled to include models that contemplate safety or excess stock.

HCB News: What are some of the biggest initiatives that AHRMM is currently focusing on?
LK: The Advisory Board has been engaged over the last two years in updating our strategic plan to ensure we are meeting the needs of our members post-pandemic. AHRMM has also made significant strides in it education content to include defined pathways dependent upon a member’s role, tenure and interests. AHRMM has also been a critical participant in the AHA’s Hospitals Against Violence initiative, and we’re focused on preventing human trafficking in the supply chain. In addition, like many organizations, AHRMM is focusing both educationally and through our updated strategic plan on the heightened need to address issues around supply chain sustainability and health equity.

HCB News: Can you tell us more about what attendees can expect at the annual meeting in Orlando?
LK: The annual conference is always a great place to learn, network, and find solutions to your pressing challenges. This year we’ve got lots of great things planned. Education sessions will focus on the most critical issues facing the health care supply chain. We’ll have a robust tradeshow so that members can find tools, technology, and other solutions to help them overcome challenges. And of course networking is an important part of the event, because growing your professional network can benefit you and your career, as well as your hospital.

HCB News: Are there any sessions or presentations that you're particularly excited about?
LK: Yes. AHRMM and the AHA have worked together to create an education session and discussion on forced labor and human trafficking in the health care supply chain. As a provider, I must admit that this topic has not been on our immediate radar. However, we all need to be far more educated and mindful of what is happening along the entire supply chain and develop practices to prevent the procurement of goods or services that involve forced labor.

HCB News: What are some of the hot topics you expect attendees to be talking about at this year's meeting?
LK: The AHRMM conference features sessions on the critical topics we’re all facing in the field. I think people will be talking about ways to overcome ongoing drug shortages; find ways to recruit and retain the workforce; manage financial pressures; promote sustainability; and better use technology and data analytics. We’ll have sessions focused on these key topics, and together we can help build a more resilient supply chain to benefit health care providers, our patients, and our communities.