While the scintillating topics that could be covered and explored here to cap off the year are numerous, one takes precedence for respect alone.
The year 2020 may best be canonized by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the last year at best for the healthcare supply chain represents one of tremendous loss – of experience, knowledge, intelligence and talent. From January 2021 until now we’ve lost what surely must be an unprecedented number of experienced healthcare supply chain leaders.
Five to be exact during the first four months of this year. There may be more that we missed in the ensuing months, and we hope you will share those names with us so that we may share this with you in a future update. Send an email to [email protected] and cc [email protected].
Before we turn the page on a duo of difficult years – and before you turn the page here within this December 2021 edition of Healthcare Purchasing News – we’d like to remember and salute one last time five we lost this year.
What follows are the notable and noteworthy departures from this plane in 2021.
Thomas W. Hughes, 75 – January 26, is well-known and highly regarded from Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI), BD Healthcare Consulting & Services, Concepts in Healthcare, Tufts New England Medical Center, Boston; Waterbury (CT) Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital, Boston.
Henry Berling, 78 – February 9, is well-known and highly regarded from Owens & Minor, Custom Healthcare Systems and A & J Hospital Supply.
Edmond D. Hardin Jr., 54 – February 10, is well-known and highly regarded from Froedtert Health, Milwaukee; Healthcare Purchasing News’ 2016 Supply Chain Department of the Year CHRISTUS Health, Irving, TX; Resource Optimization & Innovation (ROi), St. Louis; Alvarez & Marsal, BearingPoint and Computer Sciences Corp.
James W. Burns, 71 – February 10 is well-known and highly regarded from two northeastern regional group purchasing organizations, Hospital Central Services (HCSC), Allentown, PA; and Hospital Purchasing Services (HPS), Philadelphia; after a career in the food service industry.
James F. Dickow, 78 – April 18 is well-known and highly regarded from Dickow Consulting Group, Lerch Bates, Kowalski-Dickow Associates, R & J Medical, Gentec Healthcare, Will Ross (division of G.D. Searle), Drake Sheahan-Stewart Dougal, Delco Electronics, McDonnell-Douglas, CPC International.
Good night and rest in peace, gentlemen.
