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HISTORY
by Joseph P. McClain,
Ph.D., FASHE |
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Founded in 1982 |
The National Capital Healthcare Engineering Society was founded in 1982 by COL Lewis Sowell, Director of Engineering and Housing, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Chin Fun Kwok, Director of Architecture and Engineering, Veterans Administration, James Hilfiker, Howard University Hospital and Tom DeBrosse, Circle Terrace Hospital, all in Washington, DC. The society was established to fill the void that existed due to the fact that the closest chapter was the Chesapeake Society of Hospital Engineering (CASHE) located in Baltimore, Maryland. Active hospital engineers found it highly difficult to commute from Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland and the District of Columbia to Baltimore in order to participate in the Chesapeake Society. |
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Planning
Started |
COL Sowell and Jim Hilfiker during the annual American Society of Healthcare Engineering conference originated the idea, July 1983 in Hollywood, Florida. With Tom DeBrosse's help, they started planning a DC chapter as soon as they returned. George Webb and Dennis Reitz of CASHE volunteered to help the DC group get started. The Chesapeake Area Society of Healthcare Engineering advanced the National Capital Hospital Engineering Society $100.00 to establish the new society's treasury. The planning meetings were held in Chin Fun Kwok's office in the Veterans Administration, because of its central location for the strategic planners. |
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First
Chapter Meeting |
The first chapter meeting was held at Children's Hospital, Washington, DC in March 1983, with 27 engineers present. The second meeting was held in Arlington Hospital, Arlington, VA and the third at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD., with 30 engineers attending in late 1983. Meetings were held in DC General, Washington Adventist Hospital, Washington Hospital Center, George Washington University Hospital, Alexandria Hospital, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the formative years. Meetings were also held at various restaurants and hotels. |
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First Chapter President elected 1983 |
The first president elected in 1983 was Chin Fun Kwok, Director of Architecture and Engineering, Veterans Administration. |
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By-laws
drafted |
By-laws were drafted and approved during a regular meeting on April 10, 1984 and annual dues of $20.00 were established. Agreement of Affiliation between National Capital Healthcare Engineer's Society and the American Hospital Association was submitted on April 27, 1984 and approved on June 8, 1984. An Articles of Incorporation from Business Regulation Administration, Corporation Division, Washington, DC was received certifying compliance with all provision of the District of Columbia's Non-Profit Corporation Act. On December 12, 1984 a Certificate was received from the same Division indicating that our records were on file and that NCHES was an approved chapter of the American Society of Healthcare Engineering. In early 1997 the National Capital Healthcare Engineering Society registered its corporation in Northern Virginia. This transition was transparent to its membership. Further the old name "National Capital Hospital Engineering Society" was changed to the National Capital Healthcare Engineering Society. On April 23, 1997 the National Capital Healthcare Engineering Society received it's certificate of incorporation from the state of Virginia. In April of 1999 NCHES was accepted by the IRS as a non-profit organization. Tax-exempt. FEIN: 52-2039232. Foundation Status Classification 509(a)(1). |
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Logo Designed 1985 Design Changed 1997 |
Jeff McCabe designed a logo in 1985. Jim Hilfiker arranged for an architect to produce the design. Joseph P. McClain changed the design in 1997. The basic designs, established by Mr. McCabe, was maintained however, the name was changed and the logo computerized. |
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Membership |
The membership ranged from 50 to slightly over 100 over the first 10 years. All meetings were held in the evenings at either hospitals, vendor locations or restaurants. From 1993 to June 1997, the membership grew from 95 to 298 members. The executive board decided to make significant changes in its meeting protocol. Meetings were changed to afternoon business luncheons. One-hour training seminars on engineering and facility management subjects are included as a standard part of the monthly meetings. A letter was drafted to the American Society of Healthcare Engineering requesting permission to issue Continuous Education Units (CEU) for training. ASHE granted permission on August of 1994. Presently the membership averages 200 annually. Chapter membership in the American Society of Healthcare Engineering, averages 63%. Chapter membership employed by healthcare organizations, averages 50%. |
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Annual Conferences |
May
1997 - Fort MaGruder Inn in Williamsburg, VA. - 100 in attendance
May 1998 - Key Bridge Marriott, Arlington, VA. - 257 in attendance Feb 1999 - Key Bridge Marriott, Arlington, VA - 140 in attendance May 2000 - Officer Club, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, MD - 200 in attendance May 2001 - Officer Club, Andrews Air Force Base, MD - 125 in attendance |
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NFM&T Conferences |
Mar
2005 - Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD - 60 in attendance
Mar 2006 - Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD - 30 in attendance |
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Newsletters |
In 1995 NCHES started its own newsletter called "The NCHES Update" and has continued to publish the newsletter on a quarterly basis. |
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Recognition |
Over the past seven years
NCHES has participated in the American Society for Healthcare Engineering Chapter
Affiliation Competitions and has received the following recognition.
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Web Site |
NCHES established its web site in January 1998 with www.NCHES.org. The web site has 66 pages. The web site was designed and is maintained by Roy E. Leake, Clinical Engineering Division, Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The web site gets an average of about 30 hits per day. |
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Chapter Presidents |
1983 Chin Fun Kwok 1984 Lewis Sowell 1985 James Hilfiker 1986 Jeff McCabe 1987 Dick Cheslock 1988 Fred Gray 1989 Woody Bauer 1990 William Dumsick 1991 William Dumsick 1992 Mary Jane Philips |
1993 Paul Smith
1994 Terry Carnes 1995 Columbus Mack 1996 Joseph P. McClain 1997 Joseph P. McClain 1998 Seth Leblond 1999 Seth Leblond 2000 Joseph P. McClain 2001 Joseph P. McClain 2002 Roy E. Leake |
2003 Roy E. Leake
2004 Philip Obianwu 2005 Philip Obianwu 2006 Odell Hall 2007 Odell Hall |
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Some
of the |
Terry Carnes, DC
General David Chapman, Washington Adventist Richard Cheslock, Alexandria Moy Chin, DC General Glenn Daugthers, Washington Adventist Tom DeBrosse, Circle Terrace James Felch, Arlington Fred Gray, Washington Hospital Center Robert Henderson, Veterans Administration James Hilifiker, Howard University Robert Kline, Kline Engineering Chin Fun Kwok, Veterans Administration |
Jeff McCabe, Circle Terrace Willi Moller, Capital Hill Chang K. Park, DC General Mary Jane Phillips, Naval Medical Command Stanley Russell, Washington Adventist Paul Smith, Walter Reed Army Medical Center Lewis Sowell, Walter Reed Army Medical Center Corwin Strong, NIH Robert tanner, Chestnut Lodge John Thorsen, DC General Eugene Wong, St. Elizabeth |
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