MPI Formalizes Support for Medical Meeting Professionals, Creates Dedicated Community and Advisory Council

DALLAS, April 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has strengthened its support for the growing healthcare meeting sector with the development of the MPI-MD membership community and supporting advisory council. With this new initiative, the association's objective is to support and promote medical meeting professionals through education, career development programs and resources, an exclusive online member community, and private consulting. In addition, MPI has added more healthcare meeting education covering topics such as Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) and industry trends to the line-up for its 2016 World Education Congress (WEC) in Atlantic City this June.

MPI-MD is an evolution of the former International Medical Meeting Professionals Association (IMPPA), which dissolved in 2014 following MPI's acquisition of the Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) program from the organization. The MPI-MD community is championed by Pat Schaumann, CMP, CSEP, DMCP, HMCC, MPI's director of professional development ? healthcare sector, author of the book, "Breaking the Code to Healthcare Compliance," and the creator of the HMCC program. The association began forming this special interest group within its global membership this past February, and it currently has more than 800 planner and supplier members.

"Medical meeting professionals operate in a very complex regulatory environment and as a result, this segment of our membership has campaigned for more specialized training and resources," said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. "Since acquiring the HMCC Program almost two years ago, we have expanded our offerings to include healthcare webinars, the HMCC Refresher Course, the CMP-HC Prep Course, and now MPI-MD. We anticipate the MPI-MD advisory council and community will be instrumental in shaping our healthcare meeting education for years to come."
 
The MPI-MD Advisory Council is made up of top healthcare meeting experts that provide guidance on curriculum design and also contribute as subject matter experts to the MPI-MD forum within the MyMPI Online Community. The current council will serve for a two-year term ending in December 2018.
 
"Our advisory council is a collection of individuals who bring unique knowledge and skills to the MPI-MD community. Each member is highly respected and maintains a strong status within the industry," added Schaumann.
 
MPI–MD Advisory Council
Jacqueline Beaulieu, HMCC, BlueHive, Inc.,
Mary Davar, CMP, CMM, MBA, HMCC, Merck ESS Meeting Services
Kathi Donovan, CMP, HMCC, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Mozelle Goodwin, CMP, HMCC, Eisai Inc.
Isabelle Gordon, Bayer Healthcare
Bonnie Grant, HMCC, Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences
Deborah Hinson, HMCC, The Hinson Group
Michael Mahoney, HMCC, Genentech
Steve O'Malley, Maritz Travel
Kathleene S. Opperman , Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Taya Paige, HMCC, ITA Group
Charlene Rabideau, CMM, HMCC, BCD Meetings & Events
Chelsea Rowe, HMCC, Baxter Healthcare Corp.
Cheryl Smith, HMCC, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Debi Smith, HMCC, CMP, CMM, McKesson Corporation
Michael Varlotta, Janssen Immunology
Bonnie Weiss, Hyatt Hotels
Maggie Young, CMP, Medtronic
Tanya Zuckerman, CMM, CMP, Bayer CropScience
Jennifer Kamins, CMP, HMCC, Takeda
Diana McClure, CMP, HMCC, Hilton Worldwide
 
The MPI-MD Advisory Council will host their first meeting during WEC 2016. MPI has scheduled an HMCC course as a pre-conference session as well.
 
For more information about MPI-MD, visit www.mpiweb.org/membership/mpimd. To learn more and register for WEC 2016, visit www.mpiweb.org/wec16.
 
About MPI

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the largest and most vibrant global meeting and event industry association. The organization provides innovative and relevant education, networking opportunities and business exchanges, and acts as a prominent voice for the promotion and growth of the industry. MPI membership includes approximately 18,500 members belonging to more than 80 chapters and clubs in 22 countries. For additional information or to join, visit www.mpiweb.org.