The California Medical Instrumentation
Association (CMIA) is dedicated to the promotion, education and
information
exchange of the state’s clinical biomedical engineering community.
Professions span the gamut of Biomedical Equipment Technicians
(BMET) to Biomedical or Clinical Engineers (BME or CE) and their
management. The CMIA's
major instruments for achieving these goals are monthly chapter meetings,
the annual awards banquet and technical workshop and this
web site. Click here to learn more.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (CMIA Statewide Board Meeting)
The CMIA is proud to announce the hosting of the largest California Medical Instrumentation Association in the United States for its 15th year. A conference where all eight CMIA statewide chapter members and corporate members gather for a three days of relaxation, golf, shopping, tours, entertainment (this year direct from the LA Comedy Club and a CMIA exclusive), education, exhibitor expo, CMIA inaugural and awards dinner. The granddaddy of all conferences!
CMIA: Los Angeles, Bay Area, San Diego, Nor Cal, Capitol, Orange County, Inland Empire, Central Coastal
EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITY
(46 Booths and 8 Sponsorships Opportunities Available)
Note: there are 60 CMIA Corporate Members and 46 booths available. The booths are made available according to the time and date stamp of payment.
Thursday, January 26th; Clinical Engineering Golf Tournament (come play with the clinical engineering community and yell four with them)
Friday, January 27th; 8 am to 4 pm, Educational Presentations, 2:45 pm to 5:45 pm, Exhibitor Hall Grand Opening (cash bar, appetizers and light entertainment directly in the exhibit hall).
Saturday, January 28th; 8 am to 4 pm, Educational Presentations, 9:45 am to 11:45 am, Exhibitor Expo continues, 5 pm to 6 pm, Corporate Members and CMIA Members; Private Members Only Social (host bar and appetizers), 6 pm to 7:30 pm, CMIA Inaugural and Awards Ceremony (included with your booth purchase), 7:30 pm to 9 pm, Direct from the LA Comedy Club an CMIA Exclusive (included with booth purchase).
Sunday, January 29th; 8 am to 1 pm, CMIA Statewide Board Meeting (Corporate Members and CMIA Members all welcome to attend), see firsthand what goes on behind the scenes. Come for the entire meeting or come for an hour.
The CMIA Capitol Chapter, in cooperation with the CMIA Bay Area, Nor Cal and Central Coast chapters, announces Mary Logan, Presidentof the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) as their Keynote speaker for their 5th annual 4 Chapter Northern California Conference and Expo. Ms. Logan will provide a glimpse into the future of Biomeds and clinical engineering; skill set requirements and the need to insure corporate management is aware of the importance of the Biomed.
The CMIA conference and exhibitor show will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Concord, California on Thursday, September 15th from 4:00pm – 8:30pm. "Going into its fifth year this show is always a sell out," said Paul Conrad, CMIA Chairman of the Board, Pro-Tem. "We will be rolling out the red carpet for Ms. Logan and showing her Northern California hospitality," said Conrad.
NEW EVENT: Industry Roundtable led by Mary Logan at 1:30 PM SOLD OUT
For additional information and to register for this FREE to member event click here
Vendors, booths are SOLD OUT but a few sponsorship opportunites remain, contact Paul Conrad at 800-496-9906.
Title 22 to be revised
Help required for CMIA response
After 30 plus years and CMIA members grumbling , the California Department of Public Health's (CDPH) Center for Healthcare Quality, began the process of revising Title 22. Your help is required to guide the CMIA response that will be defined at our next Board meeting. The main area of interest is § 70853, Electrically Sensitive Areas.
For example in its current form Title 22 requires all devices be tested at least once a year. One proposal will permit hospitals to provide a risk assessment to define PM
schedules. Click here to view the original Article 8 (and 9) with modifications suggested by the California Hospital Association (CHA). You may attend the Board meeting or email suggestions.
join
cmia online
NorCal Chapter now Online
The CMIA and its chapters are offering membership
application and payment via credit card or
PayPal online.
Individual and chapter corporate membership are
through your local chapter.
Statewide corporate membership, which includes
logos on the left of our pages, is
through the state organization.
Since
each chapter and the state are independent the service
is being rolled out at their own pace. Today you
may join online for:
Bay Area
Capitol
Inland Empire
Los Angeles
NorCal
Orange County
San Diego
State
The remaining chapters will be added shortly. Membership is FREE for Active Military Biomeds. See the membership application for directions.
Yip Scholarship
winners announced
Enter the 2012 program now
The 2011 Frank Yip Memorial Scholarships winners, all from the LA chapter and received $500, are:
Hendro Herlambang from North Ridge
Albert Noravian from Burbank
Ted Derohenian from Glendale
The Frank Yip Scholarship application process is now all on-line. Applications
are due October 31st, those received after that date
will be considered for the award the following year. Click here to learn more.
BM&T Cites CMIA
AAMI pub interviews Paul Conrad
The May, 2011 edition of AAMI's (Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation) bimonthly peer-reviewed journal Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology (BI&T) reviewed the CMIA and interviewed Paul Conrad, the CMIA Chair Pro-Tem and Vice President of Business Development for Conquest Imaging. Thanks to Eddie Acosta, immediate past chair for the article's background information. Read both segments by clicking here.
Biomed Week's over
Our contest winners are….
Izabella Gieras, MS, MBA, CCE the Director, Clinical Technology for Huntington Hospital and Dave Ogren, Founder of OMED of Nevada, each will receive a check for $100. for their winning submissions in the CMIA Biomed Week 2011 contest. Thanks to all those submitting entries for our Biomed Week contests. Click on the winning organization to read their entire submission.
Your help is required to make the 2012 CMIA annual meet a success. It returns to a central Southern California venue, its traditional end of January timing and produced by the local Biomed community. Thus your help is needed to plan and execute all aspects of the annual conference including selecting a venue, defining the educational tracts, presenting meaningful class to Biomeds, registration, managing the exhibit area, promotion, etc. Contact Paul Conrad, CMIA Chair Pro-Tem now at 800-496-9906 or email to help make this the best conference ever.
CMIA Calendar
Click
on active links for details. Dates subject to change
The Third Annual 3 Chapter CMIA North Expo is set! Lets make this years event bigger than ever before. At last years Expo there were 43 Vendors and 186 Biomeds in attendance. This year's Keynote Speaker is Mary Logan, President of AAMI.
Save Sept 15, 2011, on your calendar, details to follow. The place is the Crowne Plaza, 45 John Glenn Drive, Concord, Ca 94520 (925)521-3761 and an elegant dinner buffet will be served (Beef & Turkey Cutting Stations)
Orange County cmia Chapter Formed
Kick Off Meeting a Success
First officers and board members of the Orange County CMIA chapter. Click image for details.
The January 31st,Orange County CMIA Chapter Kick Off meeting and Vendor Fair in Santa Ana was a success. Over 90 members of the Biomedical community attended including 32 signing up (and paying dues) to becoming members of the Orange County organization. Also in attendance lending support to the formation of a new chapter were 13 vendors showing their products and services from table top booths. Click for more
Biomed certification study guide
New Knowledge Base Document
The latest acquisition for cmia.org Knowledge Base is a FREE study guide with tests (and answers) for those planning to take the Biomed certification examination. Dave Harrington provided the document to the CMIA for its members preparing for the certification exam. He compiled the Biomed Certification Study Guide for classes in the Northeast, using material for his ICC prep column in 24 X 7 and over 40 years in the field.
Click here to view this over 100 page document in pdf format.
”
knowledge base
Popular CMIA Website Area
Visit the CMIA.org "Knowledge Base" area to view a host of presentations on Biomedical Engineering equipment, technologies and management overviews. Just click this "Knowledge Base" button or the one at the top of any cmia.org page to view an annotated table of contents. It will lead you to the requested document, presentation or video.
Initial content is varied and includes:
What the Biomed Department does
Overview of medical equipment found in hospitals
Biomed Certification Study Guide
What Biomeds should know about incident investigation
State of Biomedical Engineering in California
Introductions to mechanical ventilation, electrical safety testing, ultrasonics, and fetal monitoring
New Be a BMET Video
AAMI's what is a BMET
Want to know more after viewing the video click here. This will lead you to the "Be a BMET" section where you may view a more detail video originally given to the board of a large Northern California hospital, that Power Point presentation, other text material and opportunities for formal training in California.
BMET best 2008 jobs
Says "U.S. News & World Report"
The U.S. News and World Report chose the Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) as one of 31 careers for 2008 with bright futures. The careers listed offer strong outlooks and high job satisfaction. Each career is profiled in two parts: an executive summary and a portrait of a typical day in the life. The weekly news magazine and web site is well known for its series on best colleges, grad schools, high schools and hospitals.
Obtain a variety of CMIA apparel and gifts
directly online by clicking here.
Display your pride in your vocation and professional
organization .
You may order shirts, a cap, mugs, bags or souvenirs
with typical shipment of two business days. You
will place orders through an independent fulfillment
organization through a secure link.
Click on image above to visit the CMIA Store.
What Is a BMET?
Popular Video
What does a hospital's biomedical engineering department do? Paul Kelley, former CMIA Board Chairperson, answered that question to the Board of Directors of Washing11ton Hospital in Fremont, CA. By clicking on the links you can watch the video and/or view his presentation. Paul covers the beginnings of biomedical engineering technology, what is happening in today's modern department, who they serve, and their responsibilities. You can learn more about becoming a BMET by clicking here.
EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS
Looking to step up to the next rung of your career
or just want a change of pace or location. The CMIA
Positions Open page has many current
California opportunities. Positions vary from hospitals
to third-party services to manufacturers, from San
Diego
to
San Francisco, and from BMET to manager. Click
here to visit the Positions Open page.
1st 4 chapter SoCal event a success
18 new members joined the CMIA during its first Southern California 4 Chapter Event.
The California Medical Instrumentation Association (CMIA) held its first Southern California 4 Chapter event this past week and by all measures it was a huge success.
"They said it couldn't be done, but Paul Conrad and his team from Conquest Imaging, along with help from the Los Angeles, Inland Empire, San Diego and host chapter newly formed Orange County pulled it off and then some" remarked Gus Sakis, CMIA State Chairman.
"Paul is one of the hardest working and most dedicated individuals I have ever met said Sakis".
The event began at 8am with a quarterly meeting of the 8 chapters' board members where state business is discussed. One of the most important topics on the agenda was the proposed revisions to Cal Title 22. "This is big guys" stated Paul Kelly current CMIA State Secretariat and a past Chairman. For more information on Cal title 22 visit www.cmia.org and ...
Click here to read the entire article and here for the Carol Davis-Smith presentation "Healthcare Reform and What It Will Mean for Clinical Engineering"
David Sieminski
Assists in Haiti quake aftermath
David Sieminski (left) helps out anywhere he could at Sacred Heart Hospital after the Haiti earthquake.
The June, 2011 issue of Medical Dealer features the CMIA's treasurer, David Sieminski in a " Play it Forward" article about his experiences volunteering in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. First helping with equipment provided by his employer Philips Healthcare, at Hôpital Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart Hospital) in Milot, Haiti. Then on his own "nickle" on multiple visits as volunteer. Click here to read the entire article.
Paul Kelley
AAMI/GE BMET of Year
To be presented at AAMI 2011
The director of biomedical engineering and green initiative at Washington Hospital Healthcare Paul Kelley, BMET was named AAMI/GE Biomed of the Year. The announcement occurred at the culmination of AAMI's (Association for the Advancement of Medical
Instrumentation) National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Appreciation Week for 2011.In addition to serving the California Biomed community as Chair of the CMIA and its Professional of the year in 2010. The award will be formally presented at AAMI 2011 (June 25-27, in San Antonio). Additonal information to follow.
MD Expo is over
The most successful ever
Eddy Acosta, 20010 CMIA Chair, presenting Barry Irvine an award for his effort in forming the new Orange County chapter.
More than 350 hospital employees -
an MD Expo record - attended the MD
Expo Spring 2011, held in Napa, Calif.,
March 24-27. Attendees chose from: a
host of educational off offerings, including: the
latest research on the effectiveness of
preventive maintenance, to the impact
of PACS on biomed departments, keynote speakers and panels on the status of the industry, and a chance to interact with vendors at 80 booths. Read a complete review on the Expo by clicking here.
join our email list
Learn about State & Local Activities
Join CMIA's email database to learn of upcoming state and local chapter's Biomed activities. Your information will not be sold or shared. "Opt Out" at any time. * Required
Name *
Email *
Hospital/ * Organization
CA Region *
Comment
free conquest imaging classes
CMIA Member Benefit Extended
New Schedule
Conquest Imaging is providing the CMIA membership with one FREE seat in all their training classes through 2012. To attend: First go to the Conquest Imaging web site class schedule to select a class and date you want to attend (with two (2) alternates). Second complete the simple CMIA application form & email it to treasure@cmia.org Conquest Imaging will notify you if you are selected to attend. If there are multiple requests for a class and date Conquest Imaging will select the attendee. You must be a current member of the CMIA. Please make sure you can attend the class prior to applying so as to not deprive another member of taking the class. Transportation, meals and lodging are your responsibility. Registration is not transferable without the approval of the Board.
Looking for A Vendor?
New CMIA Sponsor Search
Looking for products or services for your Biomed shop? Now you easily find sources form CMIA's Statewide Corporate members (sponsors) with cmia.org Vendor Search buttons on every page in upper right had corner or "Click here to learn more about our sponsors" under the CMIA shield logo. Select from a combination of business types (OEM, resale, service, software, etc.) and equipment type (anesthesia, ESU, equipment management, etc.). You may receive multiple results for your inquiry, each with more about the organization and a link to their site.
A second option is to learn more about an individual sponsor. And finally a Goggle search for content.
This month TechNation named the CMIA its association of the month. It called the CMIA “an organization that's distinguished as one of the founding fathers of biomedical associations. Learn how the California Medical Instrumentation Association (CMIA) is leading the way in professional advancement and what plans the association has in store for 2011.” Click here to read the entire article.
CMIA north Expo a huge success
Concord event largest ever
The second annual 3 chapter CMIA conference and expo was once again a hit! This year proved to be even bigger than last years. All (43) vendor booths were sold out with (8) on a waiting list. We had over (186) Biomeds with standing room only for the keynote presentation. Carol Davis-Smith, Director of Premier, Inc.'s Consulting Solution Division and courtesy of AAMI spoke about the future of clinical engineer with national healthcare coming in 2012 and the new roles for Biomeds and their respective departments. Click here to view her presentation.
Carol Davis-Smith CCE receives award for her presentation "What Direction is Clinical
Engineering Headed?" The three northern CMIA chapter presidents; Charles Van Doren (Bay Area), Paul Conrad (Capitol),and Rick Walston (Nor Cal) make the presentation.
Some of the 134 members and 44 vendor booth representatives attending the second annual 3 Chapter Northern CMIA Chapter expo.
PROFESSIONAL
OF THE YEAR 2010
Nominations Closed
The California Medical Instrumentation Association in conjunction with Welch Allyn Inc. created the Professional of the Year award. This annual prize is presented in January to an individual who has given personally and professionally to the field of Biomedical / Clinical Engineering as well as to their local community. The winner receives $1,000.00 and a plaque identifying them as the CMIA Professional of the Year. The winner is also nominated for a national award by AAMI. Congratulations go to Paul Kelley named the 2010 Welch Allyn, CMIA Professional of the year.
Click here to learn more about the CMIA Professional of the Year. Nominations close September 30th, applications forms after that date will be considered for the award the following year.
CMIA at AAMI 2010
Communicating with Biomeds
The 2010 AAMI Conference saw participation of CMIA on several fronts. Eddie Acosta, David Sieminski and Paul Conrad gave a presentation to a group of 50 from Biomed organizations throughout the country on how the CMIA communicates with state Biomeds, by its annual conference, chapter meetings, webinars, social networking web sites, email, newsletters and fax . Click here to view the presentation.
In keeping with its goals of furthering the education of Biomeds, Eddie Acosta on behalf of the CMIA donated $1,000 to AAMI President Mary Logan. The funds will support the AAMI Michael J. Miller Scholarship Program in its effort for grooming the Future Leaders of Medical Technology Management.
Members of the Florida Biomedical Society welcome CMIA members attending AAMI at the CMIA booth.
Your First Biomed Job
After Completing School or “The Service”
You are in college progressing towards that Biomed degree or you are in the Service as a technician and pondering, "How do I get that first civilian Biomed position in California?" These questions are often sent to cmia.org. There is no pat answer, in speaking with newly employed Biomeds each has a unique story but there are a number of common threads. Finding a job is a process, hopefully you are using the following techniques in landing a "first" job.
Gus Sakis is now the President of HTM Trading Inc in Santa Ana, CA. According to Peter Bonin, founder and CEO of HTM Trading Inc. “We are very happy to have Gus as leader of this part of Tenacore Holdings,Inc. Gus is an experienced manager with over 20 years of sales and marketing success in healthcare technology management.” Gus can be reached at 714-371-9991 extension 160, or via email at gus.sakis@htmtrading.com
Marvin Shepherd retired San Francisco BMET and coauthor of the AAMI Electrical Safety Manual-2008 branched out to historical biography. The Sea Captain's Odyssey is a newly published book about the adventures of a Dane sailing from his own country to Auburn, California gold mines, rescuing passengers and crew from floundering boats and being shot by Indians. Click here to read the entire story.
The January, 2011 issue of TechNation named CMIA member Rick Walston its Professional of the Month. He supervises Biomed operations at 3 Adventist Health Hospitals in picturesque Napa Valley and is a founding member of the CMIA Norther California chapter. You can read all about Rick by clicking here.
Paul Kelley, CBET, was appointed by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) to The Joint Commission's Patient Safety Advisory Group. He also serves on the executive committee of AAMI’s Technology Management Council (TMC) and is the first clinical engineering manager to join the Joint Commission committee. (Learn more)
This comes after becoming the 2010 California Medical Instrumentation Association (CMIA) Welch Allyn Professional of the Year award and featured in a 24x7 magazine article about how his team at Washington Hospital Healthcare System (WHHS) in Fremont is filling in for one that is on a year Army Reserve deployment.
Eddie Acosta, CBET, CLRT, and CMIA Chair Pro-Tem, was named Professional of the Month by MD Publishing's Medical Dealer Magazine's December issue. He currently is a clinical systems engineer at Kaiser Permanente, Northern California Region, where he supports cardiology for more than 20 hospitals and 50 clinics and its patient-monitoring data-integration project. Eddie is the current President of the CMIA Capitol Region Chapter and is expected to become the CMIA State Board Chair.
George Panyarachun, MS, BME, GNG, Lifetime CMIA and longtime LA Chapter member was featured in the October issue of 24x7 magazine's cover article Managing Risk. He is currently manager of the biomedical engineering department at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) devoting much time to taking the guesswork out of risk management.
George appeared several times in 24x7 including the May. 2009 article Caught in the Middle about Biomeds caught in the middle of vendors reluctance to share information regarding maintaining and integrating their proprietary technologies.
James Knight is featured in the 24x7 magazines April, 2009 edition's article about the ongoing efforts of Adventist Health internal maintenance programs and continuing education.
Click to read the article about James and Adventist Health.
The director of biomedical engineering and green initiative at Washington Hospital Healthcare Paul Kelley, BMET was named AAMI/GE Biomed of the Year. The announcement occurred at the culmination of AAMI's (Association for the Advancement of Medical
Instrumentation) National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Appreciation Week for 2011.In addition to serving the California Biomed community as Chair of the CMIA and its Professional of the year in 2010. The award will be formally presented at AAMI 2011 (June 25-27, in San Antonio). Additonal information to follow.
Gus Sakis is now the President of HTM Trading Inc in Santa Ana, CA. According to Peter Bonin, founder and CEO of HTM Trading Inc. “We are very happy to have Gus as leader of this part of Tenacore Holdings,Inc. Gus is an experienced manager with over 20 years of sales and marketing success in healthcare technology management.” Gus can be reached at 714-371-9991 extension 160, or via email at gus.sakis@htmtrading.com
Marvin Shepherd retired San Francisco BMET and coauthor of the AAMI Electrical Safety Manual-2008 branched out to historical biography. The Sea Captain's Odyssey is a newly published book about the adventures of a Dane sailing from his own country to Auburn, California gold mines, rescuing passengers and crew from floundering boats and being shot by Indians. Click 
The January, 2011 issue of 
