Skip to Content

NHIA takes virtual event to next level

NHIA takes virtual event to next level

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – After cancelling its annual conference last year, the National Home Infusion Association is back with a virtual event to “reconnect everyone,” says COO Jennifer Charron.

With virtual events increasing in frequency due to the pandemic, the association hired a production crew to produce the event and take it to the next level, she says.

“We wanted to ensure people are getting the value and that (we put) fun into our program,” she said. “One thing that always struck me at these conferences was the close-knit community we have. We worked long and hard to make sure our conference creates that community and gets people back together again.”

The NHIA 2021 Annual Conference takes place April 19-22, 2021.

While much of the format is familiar, with about educational 50 sessions across several tracks, an exhibit hall and networking sessions, this year’s event will feature its first-ever Global Congress on Home Infusion Therapy to encourage discussion and collaboration about the growing demand for access to that therapy, says Charron.

“We had a number of other countries reach out to us this year about incorporating home infusion and for COVID treatments,” she said. “Six different companies are going to present a bit about what home infusion looks like in their country.”

In a sign of the times, the session topics include NHIA’s COVID-19 antibody therapy pilot, and virtual solutions for home infusion and specialty pharmacy operations. Other sessions cover business operations, nursing essentials and leadership.

“We’re really just advancing the practice of home infusion,” said Charron. “We have been doing home infusion for a long time, but it became so much more important when COVID started, and we really saw this large support for medical care at home.”

The association is also bringing back its popular sterile compounding clinic, but this year it will be an add-on, rather than a separate registration, says Charron. Additionally, it will host the first Foundation Trek virtual 5K, a fundraiser for the National Home Infusion Foundation. Participants can sign up as teams or individually, says Charron.

“We don’t care if you run, walk or crawl,” she said. “It’s about getting outside and taking a break from screen time.”

Comments

To comment on this post, please log in to your account or set up an account now.