Owens & Minor hosted its 13th annual Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium in Chicago this fall, to coincide with the Health Industry Distributors Association’s Streamlining Healthcare Expo & Business Exchange. Speakers, panelists, hospital and healthcare executives, along with diverse suppliers, participated in the Symposium to encourage industry players to be intentional about economic inclusion, according to Owens & Minor.
Guest speakers included Daryl Mackin, founder and executive director of A Soldier’s Child Foundation; and Bill Strickland, community leader, author, and president and CEO of the non-profit Manchester Bidwell Corporation of Pittsburgh. Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune and Dr. Fred McKinney, director of the People’s United Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, moderated panel discussions.
As in past years, the Symposium recognized industry leaders for their commitment to diversity with the Earl G. Reubel Awards. The awards were established by Owens & Minor in 2012 and named in honor of Earl G. Reubel, the late founder and CEO of Kerma Medical Products. The winners were chosen for excellence in three healthcare industry categories: civic leadership, large corporate leadership, and diversity enterprise.
- The Earl G. Reubel Civic Leader of the Year Award was awarded to Timothy Martin, strategic sourcing manager for CHRISTUS Health in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
- The Earl G. Reubel Diverse Enterprise of the Year Award was presented to MYCO Medical of Apex, North Carolina, a certified diversity supplier of medical devices specializing in single-use disposable clinical preference items.
- The Earl G. Reubel Large Corporation of the Year Award was presented to Bon Secours Mercy Health in Baltimore, a 100-bed facility licensed in the state of Maryland serving more than 17,000 residents in the Baltimore area.
In addition, the inaugural Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion was awarded to Medtronic.