Note from the Associate Editorial Director: Setting sail for the ACDIS 2019 conference
By Melissa Varnavas
The temperature here, just north of Boston, is hovering around 40 degrees. There was talk of possible snow flurries this week. Right now, it’s gray, misting. The wind is blowing.
At the ACDIS main office more than a dozen staff gathered around the table and a dozen more dialed-in to review the extensive plans for ACDIS national conference and pre-conference events. (Read more about our many wonderful staff people, visit the ACDIS Blog.)
It’s a veritable whirlwind of activity.
Think ACDIS tattoos, Dancakes, and therapy dogs. Think last minute session updates, speaker dress rehearsals, room moderator training. Think opening night reception, closing night reception, and local chapter after-hours. Think 60 sessions and roughly 50 exhibitors.
The core team flies out on Saturday, May 18. The ACDIS offices will be officially closed from Friday, May 17, through the Memorial Day holiday and will re-open on Tuesday, May 28.
We’ll be helping our event team stuff conference attendee bags with agendas, water bottles, and other information on Saturday after we’ve checked in. On Sunday and Monday, we’ll be helping to moderate three, amazing pre-conference events—The Physician Advisor’s Role in CDI, Beyond Hospital Walls: CDI expansion across the health system, and CDI Management Essentials.
Monday, May 20, at 2 p.m., pre-registration for the main conference begins and then at 5 p.m., the welcome reception in the exhibit hall takes place.
Tuesday, May 21, is ACDIS pride day and we hope that all attendees will come down decked out in their finest purple and orange ready to make new friends, and gain insight from sessions in six tracks.
Wednesday, May 22, is ACDIS state pride day where attendees are encouraged to wear something indicative of their state, and state chapter leaders engage in a table decorating contest in the exhibit hall during lunch. That night there’s also the Closing Night Award Reception but if you plan on attending be sure to purchase your ticket no later than this Friday, May 17, by 5 p.m., for $25.
Then on Thursday, May 23, don’t miss my panel discussion with the Chapter Advisory Board at 9:15 a.m., in Track 5, and ACDIS Director Brian Murphy’s panel discussion with the ACDIS Advisory Board on “Finding CDI’s True North” at 11 a.m., in Track 6.
And then, it’s all over. Everyone heads off to explore Disney or Universal or hit the Florida beaches or head home to bring their newfound CDI knowledge back to their programs.
Pre-ACDIS preparations are a whirlwind. So is the conference itself, picking up bits of information, mixing it with others’ experiences, sharing, learning, growing the CDI profession. This year’s conference theme is “Charting the Course.” We’re looking forward to spending the next week sailing with you.
Editor’s note: Varnavas is the associate editorial director of ACDIS. Contact her at mvarnavas@acdis.org.