Aimée Cowher attends Third International Conference on Cardiomyopathy in Children

By Aimée Cowher

Aimée CowherThe best minds in pediatric cardiomyopathy met last week in Maryland at the Third International Conference on Cardiomyopathy in Children.  GPS was a major sponsor of the conference hosted by the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation.  This conference is the only one of its kind bringing together pediatric cardiologists, geneticists, and epidemiologists to identify critical research areas, share best practices and research findings on pediatric cardiomyopathy.

 

When I spoke with Dr. Steve Lipshultz, conference chair, he shared how much progress has been made over the years to better understand the difference between adult and pediatric cardiomyopathy in terms of its diagnosis and treatment.  He also acknowledged that much of that progress has been recent and this conference has made a significant contribution to that progress.

 

Given the opportunity to address the group, I did so from the perspective of a mother who lost a son to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, not as the CEO of the major sponsor.  I expressed what an honor it was to attend and to witness first hand their heartfelt commitment to making a difference for patients and their families.  I also thanked Lisa Yue, President and Founder of CCF, for creating the vehicle that enables others to jump on board without having to pave to their own way.  CCF is making a difference in the passionate pursuit of their mission – to accelerate the search for a cure by stimulating and supporting promising research on pediatric cardiomyopathy, by educating and assisting physicians and patients on the complexities of the disease, and by increasing awareness and advocacy on behalf of affected children and their families.

 

GPS supports CCF thru the Kyle John Rymiszewski Foundation, which was formed in loving memory of my son Kyle, who succumbed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 2009 just before is 16th birthday.  The foundation celebrates Kyle’s life by making a difference for patients and families afflicted by this terrible disease.

 

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Late night TV and flying drone add to the excitement of this year’s FCPC Supply Chain Symposium.

FCPC

By Ken Bechard.

Errol Cerit, VP of Industry Affairs and Supply Chain for FCPC, always states in his opening remarks that this year FCPC Supply Chain Symposium will be the best ever, and he is always right!

 

This week I attended my third FCPC Supply Chain Symposium and was blown away by the quality of speakers this year.  Most impressive was a detailed talk by John Phillips, SVP Customer Supply Chain PepsiCo through the “Convergence of the Digital and Physical Worlds” highlighting technological advances that have, and will continue, to change the dynamic of the consumer goods retail industry. John detailed how social media and even video games are being used to create brand recognition as well as future consumer interfaces, such as virtual stores and fully automated kiosks.  In a nearly 2-hour presentation that felt like 20 minutes John peppered us with interesting late night satire video on emerging innovations as well as demonstrating the potential of his prototype Google glass while wearing them for portion of the presentation.  He even had a live demonstration of “flying drone product delivery” as an exclamation point for his call to action.

 

We all need to pay attention to the future of retail innovation to maximize our potential and not get left behind.  I was left fascinated however feeling a little “behind the times” “#imgettingold.”

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