Essentially Women Conference a success

OXFORD, Miss., May 10, 2013—Essentially Women GPO, the premier purchasing group for women’s healthcare products, hosted their 13th annual conference and trade show, Focus on the Future, in Charleston, S.C., March 17-19. Even in the midst of economic challenges and industry upheaval, this event was well attended.

The educational courses energized members to become politically active; armed with valuable and successful sales, merchandizing and marketing techniques; tackled tough Medicare billing issues and an audit update; plus much more. All courses were approved for American Board for Certification and BOC International continuing education credits. Highlights included:

Denise Ryan presented “Great Balls of Fire!” One of the greatest challenges we all face is keeping ourselves motivated. This is particularly difficult and extremely important with our fast-paced high responsibility jobs today. It’s easy to lose enthusiasm and get burned out, stressed out, and finally checked out. This high-energy session gave attendees six steps for getting the fire back in their lives professionally and personally. She also presented: “Motivation by Chocolate” This session featured two things everyone likes; chocolate and motivation! Ryan taught nine key motivational concepts to help participants get more out of every day – both personally and professionally. Attendees learned about persistence, passion, effective allocation of resources, the law of diminishing returns, and much more!

Dr. Jessica Bensenhaver presented “Current and Future Surgical Techniques for Breast Cancer.” She presented an overview of the surgical management of breast disease. After recently completing her fellowship in breast oncology, Bensenhaver offered a fresh perspective.

Kelly Franko presented “Leadership Awareness and its Impact on Ability to Drive Change” Self-Awareness proves vital in leadership development. Understanding your own limitations lays the ground work for developing yourself and your leadership skills. Attendees learned how to develop self-awareness in order to identify personal growth opportunities that strengthen their ability to build and retain phenomenal teams.

Mike Sperduti presented “The Elephant Man Married a Supermodel!” Thanks to his motivational magic, attendees departed this session ready to tackle the world. As the leading sales expert in the healthcare industry, he helps Fortune 100 to small one women armies do what needs to be done to survive and thrive during these challenging times. He also presented: “The Power of Love: UpCaring—Providing Better Care and More Profits!” The session was all about seizing the power of love and your sales/service team. He shared his latest skills and techniques to develop more meaningful relationships with referral sources and patients. Attendees experienced a “mind shift” inspired to provide better care and new offerings with confidence and close more business at higher margins. Sperduti moderated a panel discussion in which vendors and members shared new sales and marketing ideas, information on successful business development, dealing with Medicare regulations and contracting strategies.

Dr. Michelle Holmes presented “Lifestyle and Survival After Breast Cancer” Women who have survived a breast cancer diagnosis naturally want to know what they can do to have a long and healthy life. Holmes reviewed what is known about how body weight, exercise, diet, and common medications may affect survival after breast cancer.

Kerry Banz presented “Merchandise Planning for Retail Businesses: Maximize Your Profit Potential and Increase Your Cash Flow.” Merchandise plans are more than an open-to-buy plan; they are the key to a successful retail business. Merchandise plans minimize markdowns; projects cash flow; and create balance and flow for inventories. Banz taught how to identify trends and opportunities in their early stages to stay ahead of the curve and be proactive. Attendees learned the secrets to creating strong merchandising plans and implementing the plans to maximize profits.

Andrea Stark presented “Medicare Reimbursement: Making Sense for the Mastectomy Fitter.” Many fitters are constantly challenged by ever changing Medicare requirements. Stark addressed questions about documentation requirements, utilization, replacement requirements, use of ABNs, and so much more!

The tradeshow was busy from start to finish while exhibitors wrote orders and members capitalized on specials. Exhibits covered many different product categories including but not limited to: post-breast surgery, compression, lingerie, orthopedics, wigs and other hair loss solutions, lymphedema, accreditation, software packages, billing outsourcing, breast cancer awareness products and other medical equipment and supplies.

The Essentially Women gala reception at the Embassy Suites was a memorable event, complete with outstanding local entertainment. Members networked, relaxed and had a great time dancing the night away. In addition, several of Essentially Women’s participating vendors hosted receptions and offered additional training classes for CEU credit further maximizing the time for networking and education. Learn more at www.essentiallywomen.com.