Annual event 'bigger' than Medical Service Company

CLEVELAND - Medical Service Company has taken its annual education forum for RTs and sleep technicians completely online this year and has tapped a well-known industry leader to keynote the event.

The 20th?Annual Jean S. Marx Memorial Education Forum, scheduled for Nov. 18, features 10 sessions across two tracks, sleep and respiratory, and provides the opportunity to earn up to seven CEUs.

“Considering the circumstances of the pandemic, we thought it would be best to switch (to a completely virtual event),” said Julie Banyasz, brand marketing manager. “We're looking forward to welcoming hundreds of health professionals from across the country.”

Medical Service Company actually added a virtual component to last year's event, which drew about total 200 attendees—10% of whom attended online.

ResMed CEO Mick Farrell will keynote the event, a speaker they believe will be a big draw, says Banyasz.

“Mick is going to talk about the growth of health care delivery in and out of the hospital and his thoughts on digital health technology,” she said. “We are hopeful that by bringing him in, we will attract people.”

This year, with the COVID-19 pandemic curtailing both travel and in-person events, Medical Service Company also decided to give the event a boost by partnering with other DME providers across the country who want to offer it as a benefit to their own referral sources. The company is providing them with promotional marketing materials and custom promotional codes that providers can share with their referral sources to attend free of charge.

"This gives them the ability to be a resource to their referral partners,” says Justin Owens, director of business development.

Partnering collectively with other providers will also raise the bar on sleep and respiratory therapy, Owens says.

“We felt this is bigger than Medical Service Company and we've seen the value of education over the past 20 years,” he said. “Now, we've got the technology to allow us to expand so anyone can benefit from the lineup of experts we have and, ultimately, lead to further enhancement and innovation and make the sleep and respiratory industry better.”

HME News readers can sign up using the code HMENEWS to receive a $50 discount, making the event free to attend.